Wallpaper Engine

The launch of the New Model Editor for 3D Wallpapers on September 28, 2023, marked a significant enhancement for Wallpaper Engine, introducing powerful tools for users to create and animate 3D models. This update also included new lighting types and a revamped camera system to enhance the overall creative experience.

• New Model Editor: The model editor allows importing FBX model files with skeletal and vertex animations.
• 3D Model Improvements: Support for skeletal animation, blend shape animation, and bone constraints was added.
• New Camera System: A new camera system enables complex and smoother camera movements through timeline animations.
• New Lighting Types: Introduced new lighting options, including Point Light, Spot Light, Tube Light, and Directional Light.
• Asset Hierarchy and Attachments: A new hierarchy system in the asset list allows users to attach assets to parent assets.
• Increased Real-Time Lighting Limit: The limit of real-time lights per wallpaper increased from 4 to 12.
• Performance Optimizations: Optimizations for 2D scenes disabled anti-aliasing automatically if no 3D elements were present.
• General Editor Improvements: Various enhancements included scene layer hierarchy and puppet model attachment points.
• Fixed Sounds Playing After Unpause: Resolved an issue where finished sounds would play after unpausing scenes.
• Fixed Various Shader Issues: Addressed shader preprocessor problems and inversed culling mode issues on flipped wallpapers.

Wallpaper Engine introduced the Wallpaper Engine Android Companion App on November 26, 2021, allowing users to transfer wallpapers from PC to Android devices and customize them. This update also brought the new Depth Parallax Effect, enhancing the editor with a 3D depth effect for images, along with a Weekday Playlist Feature that lets users configure one wallpaper per weekday.

• New Content:
  • Wallpaper Engine Android Companion App: A free app for transferring and customizing wallpapers.
  • Depth Parallax Effect: Added 3D depth effect in the editor.
  • Weekday Playlist Feature: Users can set a wallpaper for each weekday.
  • High-performance exports can now be uploaded in original aspect ratio for tablet use.

• System Support: Full Support for Windows 11: Added compatibility for the new UI design with rounded corners.

• Quality of Life Improvements:
  • Firewall Rule Check: Added a feature to automatically delete rules blocking Wallpaper Engine.
  • Live Wallpaper Lock-Screen Support Info: Clarified support based on mobile device manufacturers.
  • Noticed Warnings: Enhanced visibility for 'wallpaper paused due to power saving mode' warnings.
  • Broken Wallpaper Management: Made broken wallpaper files easier to find and delete.

• Performance Enhancements: Improved app performance with a new JSON parser.

• Balance Changes: Increased Automatic Audio Unmute Delay from 3 to 5 seconds.

• Visual Updates: Updated the Wallpaper Engine Logo to align with the mobile version of the app.

Wallpaper Engine introduced a significant update on January 11, 2021, which brought a variety of new features and improvements. This update included enhancements to the LED plugin and parallax options for 3D models, alongside a new shake/flow map painting brush.

• New Features:
  • Added Brightness Option for LED Plugin for Razer Chroma and Corsair iCUE.
  • Introduced Parallax Options to 3D Models in 2D scenes.
  • Enabled Automatic Scheme Coloring for Static Wallpapers.
  • Added a Shake/Flow Map Painting Brush for fixed-direction painting.

• User Interface Improvements:
  • Moved the Approved Filter to the top of the sidebar for better visibility.
  • Introduced a My Favorites Button in the Installed tab for quick access to favorite wallpapers.
  • Displayed Version Info at the top of the UI, showing the installed version and beta status.
  • Added Exact Phrase Matching in the Workshop search for improved results.

• System Updates:
  • Updated the Steamworks API to version 1.50.
  • Removed DirectX 2010 SDK Files.

• Seasonal Changes:
  • Extended the Winter Seasonal Theme and discover tab recommendations through the end of January.

Wallpaper Engine introduced support for Razer Chroma hardware on February 14, 2020, allowing seamless integration with Scene and Video wallpapers. This update also included a new LED layer feature to enhance hardware lighting control, along with a command line control system for automating wallpaper changes.

• New Content:
  • Added Razer Bedroom and Razer Vortex Wallpapers on February 14, 2020.
  • Introduced mass import of static images into playlists on September 14, 2020.
  • Launched a new winter skin on December 13, 2019, automatically applied during December.

• Gameplay Enhancements:
  • Included a VHS effect for the editor on February 14, 2020, to recreate vintage video tape aesthetics.
  • Introduced new brush types for flow maps on September 14, 2020.

• Balance Changes:
  • Set a 2 GB file size limit for video wallpapers and a 1 GB limit for other types on September 14, 2020.
  • Added LED color boost functionality on February 14, 2020, to enhance color vibrancy for compatible hardware.

• User Interface Improvements:
  • Redesigned brush panel and drag-and-drop interface on September 14, 2020, for better usability.
  • Added a search button in the Discover tab on December 13, 2019, facilitating easier access to the Workshop.

• Quality of Life Updates:
  • Introduced a checkbox to disable automatic monitor selection on December 13, 2019.
  • Enabled playlists to always show the first wallpaper upon starting on December 13, 2019.

Wallpaper Engine officially released on November 16, 2018, marking the end of its Early Access phase after three years of development. Alongside this milestone, the application introduced a full-fledged editor for creating animations and added two video engines for enhanced performance. Other significant features included Chromium integration with custom features, enriching the overall user experience.

• New Editor Features: The full-fledged editor allowed users to create animations, while the introduction of a 'Text Layer' enabled adding dynamic text to wallpapers.
  • Custom Properties for Scene Wallpapers: Users could now bind properties like colors and sliders to scene wallpapers, enhancing customization.
  • User Property UI Editor: A UI editor for user properties was added, improving project settings management.
• Seasonal Content: Halloween-themed skins and seasonal themes were introduced on October 25, 2019, allowing dynamic adjustments based on the date.
• Improved Multi-Monitor Support: Extensive multi-monitor setups were supported, enhancing usability for users with multiple displays.
• Playlist Management: Users could create playlists with numerous options, significantly improving the way wallpapers could be organized and displayed.
• Quality of Life Updates: Several enhancements were made, including improved clone wallpaper management for incompatible aspect ratios and options to skip effect upgrades.