Wallpaper Engine News

Hey everyone,

today we are releasing Wallpaper Engine 2.2 which comes with new editor effects, support for dynamic album covers and song data in wallpapers and a large set of improvements throughout the app and the wallpaper editor.

[h2]Media & Album Cover Integration[/h2]

A long standing feature request was to implement the ability to have song data and album covers to be part of wallpapers. With Wallpaper Engine 2.2, we have now made this possible, as long as your media player provides this data to the Windows media overlay that appears in the upper left corner.

Take a look at the following sample wallpaper we created. The vinyl record will change the album cover to the currently playing album from Spotify:

Interested in using this record player as a wallpaper or screensaver? Click here to download it.

This functionality will work with any music player as long as it sends its album cover data to the Windows media overlay (visible in the upper left of the showcase above). You may need to enable this in the settings of your media player.

If you want to utilize this feature in your own wallpapers, be sure to check out our designer documentation which covers this topic in great detail:

• Album Cover Integration

If you are using a wallpaper with this feature but the album covers do not appear for you or if you have another question or issue, be sure to first check out our help website, as it helps you to resolve the most common problems regarding this feature:

• Help with Wallpaper Engine: Album Cover & Media Data Feature

[h2]Dynamic Fluid Simulation[/h2]

A new effect in the editor allows you to easily add dynamic fluid simulation to your wallpapers. The fluid simulation makes it possible to create interactive fluid, fire or smoke-like effects. Support for interactivity with the mouse cursor is included and you can create a collision mask, which allows the simulated fluid to bounce off of objects in the wallpaper.



As usual, we have created an extensive documentation for this effect on our designer documentation website, be sure to check it out and give it a try:

• Advanced Fluid Simulation Effect

[h2]Even More New Effects[/h2]

On top of the other changes we have already showcased, we have added a bunch of additional effects to the editor that you can utilize in your wallpapers.

[h3]Cursor Ripple[/h3]

The new cursor ripple effect allows you to make certain parts of your wallpaper react to the mouse cursor by giving off water ripples in its movement path.



Make sure to check out the effect documentation to learn more on how to implement it into your wallpapers:

• Cursor Ripple Effect

[h3]Chromatic Aberration[/h3]

This effect was mainly added because previously, users often used the VHS effect for its Chromatic Aberration. We wanted to add a simpler and more performant alternative to it. If you just want to add chromatic aberration to your wallpaper, you can use this effect from now on instead of using the VHS effect instead. You can learn more about it in our designer documentation:

• Chromatic Aberration Effect

[h3]Gradient Blend Effect[/h3]

The Gradient Blend effect allows you to create more complex transitions between two images. To learn more about it, check out its documentation page:

• Blend Gradient Effect

[h3]Radial Blur Effect [/h3]

The Radial Blur effect creates a rotational blur on an image layer. We have used it in the vinyl example in the album cover section above to create a slight blur effect on the rotating vinyl record.

[h2]Texture Channels in Puppet Warp Animations[/h2]

For the more advanced puppet warping system, we have added a new texture channel option. This allows you to add multiple textures into one puppet warp model and to transition between them as part of your animation. In its simplest form, it can be used for simple animations like eye blinking, but you can also change the look of entire characters or objects this way.

To learn more about this feature, check out the documentation page:

• Puppet Warp: Texture Channel Animations

[h2]Miscellaneous Noteworthy Features[/h2]

We have made a ton of additional small improvements throughout the app, here are some more noteworthy features that you might want to check out:

[h3]Quick Mobile Preview Feature[/h3]

Want to quickly get an idea of what a wallpaper might look like on your Android smartphone? Right-click on an installed wallpaper, then navigate over "Play in Window" and then select "Phone Preview" to get a vertical preview of the wallpaper.

[h3]GIF Recording Feature for Preview Images[/h3]

Many wallpapers already make use of animated GIFs for preview images. However, these preview images have to be created with third-party tools which can be a little bit complex for some users. For this reason, we have added a simple GIF recording functionality into the "Capture Preview" option at the end of the publishing process. Press the "G" key during the preview creation to switch to GIF recording mode, then follow the instructions in the upper left corner. We hope this will make animated preview GIFs more accessible to more users.



The Android app update will start to roll out across all app stores now. Please note that mobile app stores tend to release updates with a delay, so it might take a few days for the update to reach you.

If you have installed the APK file directly, you can grab the latest APK on our website right now:

[h3]Download the latest version of Wallpaper Engine on Android[/h3]



To get an overview of all changes and bug fixes, be sure to read the entire changelog:

[h2]Additions / Changes[/h2]

• Added fluid simulation effect.
  
• Added Media Integration for album covers and music data in Scene and Web wallpapers using Windows Global Media Sessions.
  
• Added cursor ripple effect.
  
• Added gradient blend effect.
  
• Added radial blur effect.
  
• Added chromatic aberration effect.
  
• Added opacity mask to precise blur effect.
  
• Added alpha blur option to blur effects.
  
• Added time offset texture to water waves effect.
  
• Added puppet warp alpha bone animations.
  
• Added puppet warp texture channel animations.
  
• Improved puppet bone visualization with new gizmos.
  
• Added polygon selection tool to separation/character sheet editor.
  
• Added options to control maximum width and number of rows for text layers.
  
• Added ability to record GIFs for Workshop snapshot in editor.
  
• Added asynchronous texture streaming loader to improve wallpaper loading speed.
  
• Added "flicker value" stock script snippet.
  
• Added puppet depth map painting and replaced basic extrusion.
  
• Added mp4 as supported image layer import format to file dialog in editor.
  
• Added stutter detection experiment to video playback through media foundation.
  
• Changed gallery context menu to use more groups and be more compact.
  
• Added ability to open wallpaper preview in portrait size or maximized.
  
• Improved property changing consistency in animation editor.
  
• Changed animation wrap loop option to be enabled by default.
  
• Added ability to copy and paste entire animation channels easily from property context menu.
  
• Added dark theme support to tray menu using undocumented APIs.
  
• Added resolution options to high-performance export for tablets.
  
• Added new monitor identification system (Managed) which will be used in new configs by default and will be more resilient against Windows inconsistencies.
  
• Changed display HDR to manage albedo brightness so extreme brightning is avoided when albedo brightness is too high.
  
• Improved automatic web audio muting.
  
• Improved lockscreen image cropping when monitors are offset vertically.
  
• Changed scenescript module to only unload on program shutdown so stability bugs in V8 are avoided when DLL gets reloaded too often.
  
• Added performance warnings to expensive (multi pass) effects.
  
• Added shader property grouping for complex effects.
  
• Added layer sorting menu to context menu in editor.
  
• Reduced memory required for sprite sheet base textures.
  
• Added 45 snapping to editor knob control when holding SHIFT down.
  
• Changed editor texture memory to include missing, currently invisible textures.
  
• Improved Workshop assets not updating after subscribing externally.
  
• Changed audio detection to use selected audio input device.
  
• Added support for HDR effects high performance encoding for mobile.
  
• Added ability to add application rules for files with invalid program extensions.
  
• Added ability to copy playlists and wallpaper properties between monitors from display selection.
  
• Improved key frame selection behavior in curve editor.
  
• Added placeholder solid layer that allows using a basic layer with dynamic user/system textures.
  
• Added floating rounding to nested property sliders in editor.
  
• Added Workshop URL copy button to editor menu and publish dialog.
  
• Added roboto mono as new stock mono spaced font.
  
• Added "getWallpaper" command to CLI to print out current wallpaper path.
  
• Added video texture count to editor stats.
  
• Added effect performance counts to editor stats.
  
• Updated Wuffs PNG decoder.
  
• Updated Windows SDK.
  
• Updated ASIO.
  
• Changed main projects to C++20.
  

[h2]Bug Fixes[/h2]

• Fixed blend mode layers to not be pre-rendered when invisible.
  
• Fixed timeline editors being unlinked when toggling preview.
  
• Fixed customizable tag being added when invalid user property links are present.
  
• Fixed image reflection not working when lighting is disabled.
  
• Fixed font characters being unmapped too early and text rendering incorrectly.
  
• Fixed particle editor viewport settings.
  
• Fixed clean project dialog suggesting deletion of newly used files due to scene file not being updated beforehand.
  
• Fixed playlist app shutdown/restart delta time not being used to advance playlist on load.
  
• Fixed cloning shell hook not being reloaded after Explorer crashing.
  
• Removed unlisted option from publish dialog since it's unavailable on Steam now.
  
• Fixed portrait/phone wallpapers being difficult to record a snapshot for in the editor.
  
• Fixed brush detection on perspective/rotated layers.
  
• Fixed being able to upload badly encoded videos.
  
• Fixed video colorization sometimes not taking effect.
  
• Fixed wrap loop frames option causing second to last frame to not save correctly.
  
• Fixed UV position picker for post-processing layers.
  
• Changed app wallpaper to close parent window before attempting to shutdown child process to potentially improve app closing behavior.
  
• Fixed playlist not looping properly when the following is true: two wallpaper, intro enabled, sorted timer, change on video end enabled.
  

[h2]Additions / Changes[/h2]

• Added option to disable wallpapers colors API or override it for phones that choose badly readable UI colors on their own.
  
• Added button to clear shader cache.
  
• Updated Android target SDK and NDK to Android 13.
  

[h2]Bug Fixes[/h2]

• Fixed shader cache not being used.
  

[h2]Additions / Changes[/h2]

• Added new borderless option to "play in window" CLI command.

[h2]Bug Fixes[/h2]

• Fixed issues with certain iCUE / Chroma wallpapers not working correctly by forcing LED layers to always render even when they are set to invisible in the editor.
  
• Fixed various audio playback issues.
  
• Fixed wallpapers with solid placeholder layer failing to upload.
  

Hello everyone,

today we're introducing Wallpaper Engine 2.1 for Windows and Android with a wide range of new features, overall improvements and bug fixes. We will walk you through some of the most impactful new features in this update.

[h2]User Texture Imports[/h2]
Another highly requested feature was the ability to allow for users to import their own images and even videos into existing wallpapers created with the Wallpaper Engine editor. These altered versions of a wallpaper can then also be shared on the Steam Workshop as so-called wallpaper presets. We are sure this will lead to a whole new series of popular and highly customizable wallpapers, so be on the look out for new and updated wallpapers with this feature!

Credits for the sample video files go to Aduare and illuskate.

To learn more about how to add customizable textures to your own wallpapers, be sure to check out our designer documentation:
[h3]

• Texture User Property - Wallpaper Engine Designer Documentation

[/h3][h2]New Editor Gizmo for Perspective Effects[/h2]
Previously, when you wanted to utilize certain perspective effects in the editor, the process was rather tedious and required manual number input. We have now released a new set of editor "gizmos" that you can use to change the perspective of certain effects more intuitively.

Resizing the Perspective effect using the new perspective editor gizmo. Shout-out to VISUALDON.

You will find the new gizmo when using the following effects with the Perspective option enabled (if applicable):

• Perspective Effect
  
• Cloud Effect
  
• Water Ripple Effect
  
• Water Waves Effect
  
• Reflection Effect

[h2]New Editor Effects[/h2]
In addition to the improvements to the perspective effects, we have also added two new effects to the editor with their own highly-customizable gizmo. These two effects can be utilized in a wide area of use-cases and make certain animations much easier to implement:


[h2]Inverse Kinematics Animations[/h2]
With Wallpaper Engine 2.1, we are further improving on the puppet warp animation system in the wallpaper editor. One of the main new features are inverse kinematics animations. Inverse kinematics are an advanced functionality which allow you to create complex animations for limbs and joints of a character.

Inverse kinematics animation in the Wallpaper Engine editor

Alongside inverse kinematics, we have also added blend rules for bones. This allows you to attach a bone from one limb to another for example. Take the knight animation above, where the sword becomes attached to the hand once the knight pulls it out of the stone - this is one possible application of blend rules.

You can learn more about inverse kinematics and blend rules in the following two tutorials:
[h3]

• Limb Animations with Inverse Kinematics
• Blend Rules for Bones

[/h3]
[h2]Discover Section Improvements[/h2]
To make it even easier to find new wallpapers and content creators, we have overhauled some aspects of the Discover tab in the app. You will can now find new collection elements in the discover tab that allow you to find popular authors and wallpaper collections more easily.

We also added new "Best of 20XX" collections which allow you to easily find the most popular wallpapers of a given year - all the way back to 2016 when Wallpaper Engine first launched.



Please see the Wallpaper Engine 2.1 changelog below for a full list of improvements and bug fixes.

[hr][/hr]

[h2]Additions / Changes[/h2]

• Added inverse kinematics for puppet warp animations.
  
• Added support for user imported textures/videos in scenes.
  
• Added puppet warp reference pose system to make using character sheets easier.
  
• Added Wuffs PNG decoder to improve scene loading speed.
  
• Added new creator/collection highlight system to Discover tab.
  
• Added "best of" queries for each year to Discover tab.
  
• Added animation loop wrap option to make looping puppet warp and property animations easier.
  
• Locked label width in browser to fix long labels moving other elements around.
  
• Removed active wallpaper from playlist poolto prevent repetition of first wallpaper.
  
• Changed "aero peek unpause" option to also affect unpausing of start menu.
  
• Added different application wallpaper window detection that has a higher compatibility than the previous hook based one.
  
• Improved text shaping performance for long texts on text layers that change every frame.
  
• Added experimental support for different wallpapers per virtual desktop (needs to be enabled in general settings).
  
• Added named hitboxes to click events on puppet warp layers.
  
• Added SceneScript function playSingleAnimation() to play a puppet warp animation once.
  
• Added "animation ended" callbacks to puppet warp animations.
  
• Added project cleaning dialog to delete unused assets from projects to clear up disk space.
  
• Updated spin and perspective effects and added custom gizmos for them.
  
• Added swing and twirl effects with custom gizmos.
  
• Added better perspective distortion to clouds, water ripple, water waves and reflection effects with custom gizmos.
  
• Added more icons and colors for folders.
  
• Updated V8 and CEF.
  
• Updated STB image.
  
• Updated font awesome.
  
• Changed 'add' layer blendmode to use native blending and made native/emulated blending more obvious in dropdown.
  
• Disabled loading wallpaper cache after Steam user has been switched.

[h2]Bug Fixes[/h2]

• Fixed Display HDR white level alignment.
  
• Fixed some rendering issues with specific sprite sheet/lighting/puppet warp combinations.
  
• Fixed system menu not being available on user interface.
  
• Fixed web wallpapers not working properly when used as screensaver and wallpaper at the same time.
  
• Fixed Display HDR not being recognized if it was only supported by some of the connected monitors.
  
• Made slider updates in editor more reliable.
  
• Fixed cloned wallpapers in screensavers not being muted.
  
• Fixed some undo/redo behaviors in editor.
  
• Fixed slowdown when importing 1000s of images at once.
  
• Changed thumbnail image generator to only generate currently visible previews.

[h2]Additions / Changes[/h2]

• Enabled Wallpaper Colors API on Samsung devices again. Previous versions of Android caused the app to crash on Samsung devices. If you experience crashes on Samsung devices after this update, make sure that your device is up-to-date.
  
• Added long-press dialog to apply button that also allows reverting the wallpaper back to the system default again.

[h2]Bug Fixes[/h2]

• Fixed video wallpaper rotation not resetting properly when switching between landscape/portrait modes.
  
• Added workaround to a reference leak in Android surface view.
  
• Fixed time of day/day of week playlist crashing when too many wallpapers were active.

[hr][/hr][h2]Additional Notes about the Android Update[/h2]

The Android app update will start to roll out across all app stores now. Please note that mobile app stores tend to release updates with a delay, so it might take a few days for the update to reach you.

If you have installed the APK file directly, you can grab the latest APK on our website now:

[h3]Download the latest version of Wallpaper Engine on Android[/h3]
[hr][/hr]


[h2]Additions / Changes[/h2]

• Added support for playlists in new experimental virtual desktop support feature.
  
• Custom textures in presets are now added to Android package during export.
  
• Current user properties settings are now exported to any Android device.

[h2]Bug Fixes[/h2]

• Fixed crash when creating new presets on systems without any existing presets.
  
• Fixed issues with puppet warp click events.
  
• Fixed GIF placement in user textures not being centered.
  
• Multiple fixes regarding texture imports on Android
  
• Added workaround for issues related to broken instances of Windows Explorer.

Hey everyone, today we are releasing a new update for the Windows & Android version of Wallpaper Engine. The updates mainly add some new features that we did not finish for the initial release of the Android app, and fixes issues that were reported to us over the last few weeks.

[h2]Android-related Improvements[/h2]
[h3]Free Alignment on Android[/h3]
Allowing for the free alignment of wallpapers was one of the most common requests we received. We have now added the ability to do this. To free align your wallpaper, change the alignment option from "Cover" to "Free", you can then rotate and zoom the wallpaper with your fingers to freely position it on your mobile device just the way you want it.



This feature is mainly useful for wallpapers that have a widescreen resolution for computer screens. Make sure to use the "High Quality" or "Balanced" quality export option if you want to make proper use of this feature.

[h3]High-Performance Export Improvements[/h3]
In the Windows app, we have improved the high-performance export for Android. It will now take your wallpaper settings into account so that you can first adjust the wallpaper to your liking and then export it with these settings.

The high-performance export allows you to cut the wallpaper size to exactly fit the screen of your device. We have added a new "automatic" option for the export resolution which will use your actual device resolution to fit your display exactly.

The high-performance export will now also show a preview image where you can align the part of the wallpaper that you want to transfer to your Android device more easily:



Keep in mind that for the "High-Quality" and "Balanced" export options, the wallpaper is always transferred in its full resolution.

[h3]Additional Notes about the Android Update[/h3]

The Android app update will start to roll out across all app stores now. Please note that mobile app stores tend to release updates with a delay, so it might take a few days for the update to reach you.

If you have installed the APK file directly, you can grab the latest APK on our website now:

[h3]Download the latest version of Wallpaper Engine on Android[/h3]

[h2]Windows App Improvements[/h2]
[h3]Experimental Display HDR Support[/h3]

This update also introduces new support for true display HDR support. For now this option will stay disabled by default but you can manually enable it by changing the post-processing quality option to "Ultra (Display HDR)". Please note this option will only appear when a screen with HDR enabled is connected to your system.

HDR support can significantly improve image quality in in certain lighting conditions on wallpapers. If you have a screen with HDR support, feel free to enable the option and share your feedback with us.

[h3]Other Improvements[/h3]

Read the full changelog below to get a complete overview on all additions, changes and fixes this update brings to both the Windows and Android version.


[h2]Windows App[/h2]
[h3]Additions / Changes[/h3]

• Added Display HDR support.
  
• New puppet warp limb sorting controls.
  
• Added new block user dialog where all blocks can be checked.
  
• Improved wallpaper blocking by grouping blocked wallpapers into a single tile.
  
• Redesigned the top section of the Discover tab, now shows your profile avatar and offers a menu with more options related to your account.
  
• Replaced "relevance" search with "top rated" to show better quality results when using the search functionality.
  
• Renamed "fullscreen layer" to "post-processing layer", "composition layer" to "adjustable composition layer" and added new "full composition layer" that scales automatically to project resolution.
  
• Improved puppet warp weight coloring.
  
• Added auto generated scheme color for videos in editor.
  
• Added script emitParticles() function which allows you to programmatically emit a certain number of particles from a particle system.
  
• Improved puppet warp weight editor performance.
  
• Replaced phone collection with new query that uses the approved tag in combination with a portrait resolution in the Discover tab.
  
• Portrait resolution tags will now be applied to a wider range of resolutions instead of categorizing wallpapers as "Other resolution".
  
• Added high-precision timer option, enabled by default for new users, which allows for more accurate and consistent FPS limiting.
  
• Updated Steamworks SDK to 1.53a.
  
• Updated OpenAL soft to 1.21.1
  

[h3]Bug Fixes[/h3]

• Improved parallax behavior on mobile.
  
• Fixed combo box bindings in script properties.
  
• Fixed script compiler exceptions not showing in log.
  
• Fixed menu bar button area not matching icons.
  
• Fixed Windows message discrepancy leading to crashes in specific cases.
  
• Fixed some WEColor script functions.
  
• Fixed wallpaper load rule not resuming certain types of playlists after being disabled again.
  
• Fixed screensaver not loading special audio mute rules.
  
• Fixed approved tag getting lost too easily when wallpaper is being updated while being approved.
  
• Fixed audio recorder never starting if application was started while no audio devices existed at all.
  
• Fixed fullscreen layer not rendering with any blend mode enabled.
  
• Fixed perspective and skew effects when texture reduction is active.
  
• Improved recent wallpaper config not clearing duplicate entries when expected to.
  
• Fixed media keys not being forwarded by UI.
  
• Fixed a crash when project.json properties are not according to the expected syntax.
  

[h2]Android App[/h2]
[h3]Additions / Changes[/h3]

• Added free alignment option that supports scale and rotation.
  
• Wallpaper settings are now taken into account for high-performance Android exporter instead of always exporting the default settings for a wallpaper.
  
• Added new display resolution option for high-performance export that uses actual phone resolution.
  
• Added ability to import multiple files on Android.
  
• Added import error dialog when trying to open invalid files.
  
• Added support for WiFi/USB-Tethering transmission.
  
• Added new context menu on Android.
  
• Added wallpaper details page.
  
• Added error dialog when trying to use app on phone without OpenGL ES3.0.
  
• Changed scrolling parallax to be able to scroll over entire wallpaper (by default it's half of the wallpaper).
  
• Added manual IP address connection. Click on the three-dotted button in the upper right corner to enter the IP address of your computer if the discovery of your devices does not work.
  

[h3]Bug Fixes[/h3]

• Improved parallax behavior on mobile.
  
• Improved GIF looping.
  
• Fixed crash after locally imported files got deleted from phone.
  
• Improved transfer stability while screen is locked.
  
• Fixed flag shader.
  
• Fixed crash when trying to load invalid files.
  
• Fixed high-performance mobile exporter on wide aspect ratios.
  
• Fixed FPS limit lowering back down to 100 when the app restarts.
  

Today's update addresses the most common problems related to the Android release and we are updating both the Windows and the Android version of the app.

[h2]Connecting the Android & Windows App[/h2]
The most common issues we received were related to connecting the Android app with the Windows app to download more wallpapers. We have looked into this and in many cases was caused by the Windows firewall. If Windows has previously asked you to give Wallpaper Engine ("ui32.exe") permission to access your network and you simply closed the window or did not grant the permissions for Wallpaper Engine, then Windows will automatically block Wallpaper Engine's process from properly communicating with your local network:

If you clicked "Cancel" here or just closed the window, then Wallpaper Engine is blocked in your Windows firewall.

We have now added a new check that will try and detect issues like that and will offer you a way to automatically fix the Windows firewall. However, if you do not get any notification about the Windows firewall or if you use any other firewall application, then Wallpaper Engine cannot fix your local network automatically.

If you have any additional firewall or antivirus applications installed, you need to ensure that ui32.exe is not being blocked.

Wallpaper Engine on Windows will now also use additional methods to broadcast itself on your network which will also make it more accessible to Android devices under certain network configurations.

If your connection issues persist, please read the following help page:

• Android App Connection Troubleshooting

Keep in mind that you can always use the export functionality as a backup and simply transfer your wallpapers to your mobile device via USB or another method. When placing wallpaper files on your mobile device, always make sure to use the Downloads directory on your phone or tablet. Android is very restrictive for security reasons and Wallpaper Engine cannot access every Android folder, but the Downloads directory is usually the most reliable.

[h2]Lock-screen Wallpapers on Android[/h2]
Since it is a very common request that we received via email and on our forums, we just wanted to re-iterate this here: Wallpaper Engine fully supports live wallpapers on the Android lock-screen. However, a lot of phones and tablets do not support live wallpapers on the lock-screen.

If you are not given the option to set a live wallpaper on your lock-screen, then this is a limitation set by your phone manufacturer. Wallpaper Engine has no control over this and this cannot be fixed by us or any other live wallpaper app. The best thing you can do in such a case is to send feedback to your phone manufacturer and let them know that this is a feature you care about, it's something that could be added in an Android update.

[h2]Android App Update[/h2]
The latest Android app may take a few days until it reaches everyone, as mobile stores tend to roll out updates more slowly. If you have installed the Android APK directly, make sure to download the latest version from our website:

• [h3]Wallpaper Engine for Android [/h3]

If you have installed the app through an official app store, there is nothing you need to do and the update will be installed on your device automatically within the next few days.

[h2]Changelog[/h2]
[h3]Additions / Changes[/h3]
[h4]Windows App[/h4]

• Added firewall rule check to pairing screen and a button to automatically delete any rules that block Wallpaper Engine.
  
• New: High-performance exports of wallpapers can now also be uploaded in their original aspect ratio, which is useful for usage on tablets.
  
• Fixed high-performance mobile conversion getting stuck.
  
• Fixed video wallpaper upload not working without Windows Explorer thumbnails being available.
  
• Fixed editor aspect ratio not resetting when clicking on wallpaper while a preview mode is active.

[h3]Android App[/h3]

• Added clear information about how the possibility of setting a live wallpaper as a lock-screen wallpaper is entirely decided by the mobile device.
  
• Fixed crashes on Samsung S21 devices due to broken Samsung Android 12 update.
  
• Fixed very large wallpapers, app now supports wallpapers with up to 4 GB in size.
  
• Wallpaper transfer is now more reliable when screen gets locked during transfer.
  
• Fixed "add to playlist" button not working on preview screen beyond 7 wallpapers.
  
• Added more file import rules for Android 9 and lower to reduce vendor specific issues during import.
  
• Fixed some time of day wallpapers not working properly on Android.
  
• Made the "wallpaper paused due to power saving mode" warnings absolutely impossible to miss.
  
• Made broken wallpaper files show up in the browser so they can be deleted easily and don't waste any storage.
  
• Localization fixes, notably "Yes" and "No" are not longer switched in the German version which led to a lot of confusion 🤡🇩🇪.
  

Hello everyone, today we are releasing Wallpaper Engine 2.0! The update brings support for Android, a new logo, a new 3D depth effect and a handful of other additions and improvements to Wallpaper Engine.

[h2]Wallpaper Engine Android Companion App[/h2]

We are happy to finally release the free Wallpaper Engine Android companion app. Some key features of the app are as follows:

• No hidden costs, no advertisements, no user tracking or data collection.
  
• Transfer Scene and Video type wallpapers from Wallpaper Engine on your computer to Android wirelessly.
  
• Import any compatible files from your device as a wallpaper: Videos, GIFs, images & Wallpaper Engine wallpapers
• Create a playlist of your wallpapers and use different playlist modes
  
• Automatically pauses when power saving mode is enabled, offers FPS and quality settings.
  
• Full support for dynamic audio visualizers, clocks & other dynamic wallpaper elements
  
• Let wallpapers move along with the motion of your device (devices with gyroscope)
• Support for automatic theme colors based on the current wallpaper, including Android 12's Material You

[h3]Download Wallpaper Engine for Android[/h3]
We recommend installing the app through an official app store, however, we also offer a direct APK download for more advanced users. View our website for all installation options here:

• [h3]Download the Wallpaper Engine Android Companion App[/h3]

[h3]Adding new Wallpapers to Android[/h3]
Directly connecting to the Workshop from a mobile device is not possible from a technical and legal point of view. However, we built a convenient system that allows owners of Wallpaper Engine on Windows to transfer their wallpapers to Android devices with ease:

Step 1: Click on the new Mobile button in Wallpaper Engine on Windows, then select Connect new device. Wallpaper Engine will show you a 4 digit PIN that you can use to connect to your mobile device now.

Step 2: Open Wallpaper Engine on your Android device and click on the Add button in the lower right corner. Select Pair with Computer, your computer should now be visible in the device list. Select it and enter the 4 digit PIN from step 1.

Step 3: Your devices should now be connected. Right-click on any compatible wallpaper and click on Send to mobile device, then select your mobile device from the list. Your wallpaper will now be transferred.



If you are unable to connect to Android: Right-click on any wallpaper and select Send to mobile device, then select Export .mpkg. You can then transfer the exported mobile package file to your mobile device via cable or by transferring it to your mobile device in another way.

• Click here to read our Android connection guide.

Tip: You can also transfer folders or multiple wallpapers at the same time by multi-selecting them by holding the CTRL key. Clicking CTRL + A in the Installed tab selects all installed wallpapers and lets you transfer them all at the same time.

[h2]New Wallpaper Engine Logo[/h2]
Along with the release of the Android version of Wallpaper Engine, we felt it was time to update our logo. The old logo mainly consisted of a computer screen - which does not make much sense on a mobile device. A major release 2.0 release felt like the best time to try something new and we are very happy with the outcome.



We have experimented a lot with different designs and settled on a new logo which keeps the spirit of the old design, but with a more modern spin. With Wallpaper Engine 2.0, you will find the new logo throughout the application, in Windows and on our websites:



[h2]New Depth Parallax Effect[/h2]
A major new addition to the Wallpaper Engine editor is our new Depth Parallax effect. This effect will allow you to create a perceived 3D depth to your images. On computers, the effect is influenced by the mouse while on Android, the movement of the phone will simulate the mouse movement.



To make full-use of the effect in the wallpaper editor, we recommend installing our new free Editor Extensions DLC. We decided to separate this particular editor feature into an optional DLC because the features requires a download which is several gigabytes in size. When first using the effect in the editor, Wallpaper Engine will ask you to install the DLC for you. For more infos, see our full guide on how to install and use the depth parallax effect in the editor:

• Depth Parallax

It's important to note: You do not need to install the free DLC unless you want to use the effect in the editor yourself - the effect will still work on computers and mobile devices even if the free DLC is not installed.

[h2]Weekday Playlists[/h2]
A popular request that we have received over time was the way to configure one wallpaper per weekday. With this update, we are introducing a new weekday playlist. Simply add up to seven wallpapers to the playlist in the Installed tab of Wallpaper Engine, then click on Configure in the playlist section and select the Day of Week option from there. You will also find the already existing playlist options there, such as the Time of Day playlist type.

[h2]Windows 11[/h2]
Wallpaper Engine fully supports Windows 11, with this update, we are also adding support for the new rounded corners user interface design. If you are upgrading to Windows 11 and experience any issues with Wallpaper Engine, make sure to do a full re-installation of the latest graphics card drivers. Most Windows 11 users who reached out to us with issues were using outdated graphics card drivers.

If you are using a Windows 11 theme with transparency, you will notice that Wallpaper Engine will be ignored by Windows 11. To fix this issue, simply enable the new Override wallpaper option in the Wallpaper Engine settings. This will keep your Windows wallpaper in sync with your Wallpaper Engine wallpaper and fix any issues with transparency on Windows 11.

[h2]Changelog[/h2]

[h3]Additions / Changes[/h3]
[h4]Main App[/h4]

• Added Android support and released the new Wallpaper Engine Companion app for Android.
  
• Added mobile collection to Discover tab.
  
• Updated Wallpaper Engine logo, color theme, including app icons.
  
• Added rounded corner support for Windows 11.
  
• Added "day of week" playlist mode, limited to 7 wallpapers.
  
• Re-arranged search filters, added new "mobile compatible" filter option.
  
• Added "favorite" button when right-clicking on a wallpaper.
  
• "Stop mode" now turns off automatically while wallpaper is being changed manually.
  
• Improved user interface for configuring physics bones.
  
• Increased automatic audio unmute delay from 3 to 5 seconds.
  
• Added scheme color to "apply to all wallpapers" dialog.
  
• Removed 12h / 24h clock option from playlist, now detected automatically depending on system settings.
  
• Added CLI applyProperties support to windowed wallpapers.
  
• Improved app performance with new JSON parser.
  
• Updated core application binaries to latest Visual Studio 2022 compiler and latest Win SDK.
  
• Reduced occurrence of rare cursor flickering issue in CEF.
  

[h4]Wallpaper Editor[/h4]

• Added new depth parallax effect.
  
• Added FREE editor extensions DLC for depth parallax effect. You only need this if you want to use it in the editor, users of your wallpapers do not need this DLC.
  
• Added color picker tool to editor painting tools.
  
• Improved support for rendering Chinese, Japanese, Korean and more characters in scene wallpapers text layers with new fonts.
  
• Improved "Rope Renderer" for particle systems.
  
• SceneScript: init() and update() function will now automatically convert numbers into vectors (Vec2, Vec3, Vec4) when they are returned. This helps to simplify some scripts.
  
• SceneScript: Reviewed and improved all sample code snippets slightly.
  
• SceneScript: Update reference URLs to new SceneScript documentation.
  
• Made transparency cropping work with DXT compression in the editor.
  

[h3]Bug Fixes[/h3]

• Fixed "High Performance" option for the texture resolution settings breaking a low number of wallpapers.
  
• Fixed editor crashing when importing textures with resolutions below the minimum required size.
  
• Fixed certain filter settings causing wallpapers to show up twice in the "installed" tab.
  
• Fixed crash related to video textures.
  
• Fixed JPEG EXIF meta data sometimes not being applied on image layers. If you rotate images with Windows, they should now also appear rotated in the app properly.
  
• Fixed issue with particle system colors not working properly.
  

[h2]Frequent Questions About The Android App[/h2]

[h3]How much does the Android app cost?[/h3]
The Android app is free of charge, there are no hidden costs, no in-app purchases and no advertisements. It can also be used as a standalone app without owning Wallpaper Engine on your computer and import compatible wallpaper files from your mobile device.

[h3]Can the Workshop be accessed directly from the Mobile App?[/h3]
No, the Workshop cannot be accessed from mobile devices due to technical and legal restrictions. We built a convenient way to transfer your existing collection of wallpapers from your computer to Android. We tried to make this process as easy and simple as possible, in most cases you just need to make sure your mobile device and your computer are connected to the same network. Click here to learn more.

Additionally, you can also just directly import any compatible wallpaper files from the files stored on your mobile device. Wallpaper Engine for Android also works well if you are simply looking for a way to turn any video files on your Android phone or tablet into your mobile wallpaper or if you want to use several static wallpapers in a playlist.

[h3]Does Wallpaper Engine drain the battery of my devices?[/h3]
No, we have optimized the app extensively and most modern devices will not notice a negative effect on battery life in day-to-day usage.

We have been using the app for months on our private devices now and on an average day and we have not seen any meaningful battery usage through Wallpaper Engine. The app automatically pauses when another app is full-screened on your device and when your device is turned off. Battery saving mode will automatically pause your live wallpaper to reduce its impact on battery life even further. On top of that, you can also tweak the performance impact in the app settings by adjusting the FPS limit.

[h3]Do wallpapers also play sounds like on Windows?[/h3]
No, all wallpapers are muted on Android. However, audio visualizers work as long as you grant the app the permission to record your device's audio.

[h3]Can I set a wallpaper on my Android lock screen?[/h3]
This depends on your device. Some Android manufacturers do not allow live wallpapers on the lock screen while some others do. If you are not offered the option to set a lock screen wallpaper, then your device manufacturer does not allow it.

[h3]What about Wallpaper Engine on iOS for iPhones and iPads?[/h3]
Unfortunately, Apple's iOS does not support true live wallpapers like Android. It is not possible to create anything similar to Wallpaper Engine on iOS. If Apple ever changes their mind on this, we will likely also follow-up with an iOS version. Click here to read our lengthy explanation about Linux, Mac OS and iOS.




[h2]Feedback, Questions and Technical Support for Android[/h2]
If you have any questions, suggestions or general feedback about the new Android app or if you run into any technical issues, be sure to post a message on the Android section of our Steam board:

• Wallpaper Engine - Android App Discussions