Solutions for common issues in Steam/Windows
* Verification issue while updating
* STEAM: Content file locked / Disk write error / Content encrypted
* NVIDIA stutter on video load (since 26.02.18)
* Malwarebytes system freeze/browser crash
TL;DR
Scene audio playback + responsive effects, easier wallpaper creation, mute button in tray menu, easier particle editing, CEF updated, new wallpapers in store, report options adjusted to be more efficient
Hey all,
a new patch for Wallpaper Engine has been released that adds a number of new features. Creating wallpapers has become easier now, scenes have support for audio playback + audio responsiveness and a mute button has been added to the tray menu among other things.
Scene Audio Playback/Response Support
Looping music and random sounds can now be added to scenes. There are buttons in the usual places to add sounds, but you can also drag a supported file (mp3, ogg, wav, flac) into the wallpaper.
I implemented SFML2 and mpg123 to accomplish this, it was possible thanks to the mp3 patents being revoked last year. And to accomodate for the license of mpg123, the code for this is open source and can be separately compiled: https://github.com/Biohazard90/wallpaper-engine-media-extensions
Several particle behaviors now have options to react to audio. That means for example particles could emit according to the sound level or apply different forces.
Random particle video example: https://streamable.com/9tvvs
The pulse image effect has also received an audio response option. This allows you to make the image pulse based on the same audio properties.
Easier Particle Editing
Particles have now received a second layer of controls that is easier to adjust, so there is now a way to change basic things without having to use the fullfledged particle editor.
CEF Update
The CEF version used by Wallpaper Engine has been updated to 3.3325.1750. I have tested dozens of web wallpapers and did not notice any errors myself, if you find anything, please let me know. It is inevitable that something might be affected, but Valve made it possible for me to fix existing uploads from other users now, that's a better option than ceasing to update the browser engine.
New Store Wallpapers
Two more wallpapers have been accepted to the store front:
There are tons of other great submissions, but so many of the uploads are copyright violations. I would like to accept more, specifically scene and web type wallpapers where I can see that no copyright is being violated or there is a way for me to ensure that.
Mute Button
The tray menu now has a mute button, which works for native videos and scene wallpapers. Sadly web and application wallpapers are not handled right now, much like the audio detector does not handle them yet.
New Favorite/Up Voted Queries
The Workshop page now has a 'my favorites' and 'voted up' query. This will allow you to remember/track wallpapers you like without actually subscribing to them all. So for example, if you are having trouble with Steam's downloading, you could track wallpapers here and only subscribe to the ones you are actually using at the time.
The filter menu has also been changed to allow for selection of multiple resolutions/types etc.
And finally, the 'installed' tab now has pagination with 500 wallpapers per page. So if you have thousands of wallpapers, the performance of the menu should be better now, since not all wallpapers will be listed at once anymore.
Report System
I have made adjustments to the report system based on what kind of reports I've been getting. The 'content rating' category has been renamed to 'nudity/violence' and the 'offensive' category has been removed. This was to accomodate for the following big issues:
- Most reports in the default 'genre' category were random with comments like 'doesn't download'. I know, Steam's download system can be buggy, but this is only fixable by Valve, I cannot do anything with these kinds of reports and they were cluttering up the genre category.
- Many reported nudity content as 'offensive'. If these reports are split between two different categories, it makes it more difficult to process for me. The 'offensive' category is just too generic, most of the reports in there didn't belong there at all. So now I made the nudity report category easier to find and actual offensive wallpapers should be reported through the 'other' category - they are usually very easy to discern from the preview or title.
Easier Wallpaper Creation
You can now create a new wallpaper by taking your base background file and Wallpaper Engine will figure out the rest. For 2D scenes, the image will also automatically be imported and a proper scheme color set. Web wallpapers now just have to select the base .html file, it can have any name, instead of a folder with an index.html. The wallpaper type selection was replaced with a single button, it's now automatic:
Leaving Early Access + Next Updates
It's about time I remove the Early Access flag and I think some time (weeks?) after the next big Windows 10 update would be convenient, to ensure everything still works well on there. What I still want to implement for this beforehand:
- Mirror layout for multi-monitor (this is difficult to implement for all types of wallpapers and many have different expectations to how this works. I will have to experiment and release the best solution I can realize.)
- Workshop 'explore' tab (maybe): I want to use my own server alongside Steam's systems to pick users and collections and show their wallpapers in a thematic fashion.
There is still no visible progress on better support for models. The current Adobe FBX SDK is incompatible with Wallpaper Engine and I can't uproot the entire program to accomodate for this. To my knowledge they are working on a compatible version (VS2017) but there is no ETA on it. If any of you have an idea or experience with a good model importer I should check out, please let me know. For now I won't give any ETAs on this anymore until I really know for sure that I've found a basic working importer.
Full changelog
Additions
- Added new editor welcome dialog for easier wallpaper creation.
- Added optional system wallpaper fade killer to remove fade when logging in or from the slideshow.
- Added native image compression to reduce size on disk for large PNGs and JPEGs (does not affect memory use or performance since these compressions cannot be handled by graphics hardware anyway).
- Added pagination to installed tab for 500 wallpapers per page.
- Added sound playback to scenes with support for mp3, wav, ogg, flac.
- Added DirectX support detection to installer and a warning if requirements aren't met. (NOT a new requirement!!!! It's only a message.)
- Added scene particle instance controls for easier editing of basic properties.
- Added 'my favorites' and 'upvoted' Workshop queries.
- Added mute button to tray menu.
- Added more 'filtered' labels to make it more obvious that filters are active and not all wallpapers are shown.
- Added audio processing options to pulse image effect.
- Added audio processing options to several particle elements (emitters, initializers, operators).
- Added basic audio smoothing and normalization to scene audio processor.
- Updated CEF to version cef_binary_3.3325.1750.gaabe4c4_windows32_minimal.
Fixes
- Fixed unreliable Media Foundation init/shutdown by only performing it on application shutdown now.
- Fixed crash in audio detector when it is reset.
- Fixed effect list overflowing visually.
- Fixed service running without environment block, causing web links to fail.
- Fixed maximized/fullscreen muting.
- Fixed mip map generation pixel artifacts.
- Fixed particle simulation crash due to missing alignment of a variable.
- Fixed Workshop pagination breaking when Steam returns bad data.
Misc
- Changed worker to clear desktop layer when 'stop' is used instead of leaving an undefined image behind (it was black or random for some).
- Replaced filter drop downs with checkboxes, so now it can be filtered by combination of any options.
- Made texture compiler apply color bleeding to deal with Photoshop's inconvenient png export of fully translucent pixels - reduced weird outlines in PNGs.
- Made Steam ticket request a refresh from Valve's servers if it was invalid during reports.
- Changed download icons to read 'Steam download', trying to make it even more obvious that Steam is responsible for how this works. Also added a question mark with a link to a guide on how to deal with Steam's download problems.
- Replaced default report category to 'other' and removed 'offensive' to try reduce all of the wrong reports.