In this post, we’re going to answer your questions about Steam Wallpaper Engine like how to download Wallpaper Engine, how to use Wallpaper Engine, how to download Wallpaper Engine wallpapers, and more.
What is Steam Wallpaper Engine?
The Steam Wall Paper Engine lets you use live wallpapers on your Windows desktop. It supports various types of animated wallpapers including 2D and 3D animations, websites, videos, and even certain applications.
Other features of the Steam Wallpaper Engine include:
- Supports many aspect ratios and native resolutions
- Supports multi-monitor environment
- Lets you create your own animated wallpapers via the Wallpaper Engine Editor
- Allows you to animate new live wallpapers from basic images or import HTML and video files for the wallpaper.
- You can use the Steam Workshop to share and download wallpapers for free.
- Personalize animated wallpapers with your favorite colors
- Wallpaper Engine will pause when playing games
What are the System Requirements for Wallpaper Engine?
Wallpaper Engine will work on computers running Windows 7 and above, although the recommended is Windows 10 and 11.
The minimum requirements are below.
- Processor: 1.66 GHz Intel i5 or equivalent
- Memory: 1024 MB RAM or above
- Graphics: HD Graphics 4000 or above
- DirectX: Version 10
- Storage: 512 MB available space
Currently, Wallpaper Engine doesn’t support Mac OS.
How to Download Steam Wallpaper Engine?
To download Wallpaper Engine, simply launch your Steam client on your computer and then go to the store.
Search for Wallpaper Engine in the search bar and you will be taken to the app page where you can see the details about the app.
Click on the Add to Cart button to buy it. On the shopping cart, choose whether you are buying it for yourself or purchasing it as a gift. Click on your choice and then select the payment method and follow the prompts.
Alternatively, you can also buy the app via the Steam Website. Go to this page and add the item to the cart. You will be asked to sign in if you haven’t already. The next steps are pretty much the same as buying through the Steam Client.
After completing the purchase, Wallpaper Engine will show up in your Steam Library under Software.
How to Use Wallpaper Engine?
Now that you have your Wallpaper Engine installed, you can now change your computer’s wallpaper using the application. Here’s how to download Wallpaper Engine wallpapers from Steam.
Launch the Wallpaper Engine.
If you have two or more monitors, choose the one you want to change the background for. You have the option to use the same images on your monitors, stretch the image for both/all monitors, or use different scenes in each one.
Go to discovery tab to look for a scene. You can also use the search bar if you are looking for a particular type of scene. Once you find something you like, click on the subscribe button to download it. Your wallpaper will automatically change once it finished downloading.
You can change the properties of your chosen wallpaper like the scheme color, alignment, volume, playback speed and more.
Once you have installed a wallpaper, it will appear on the Installed tab of the Wall Paper Engine. You can switch between the already installed wallpapers anytime you want. All you have to is to click on the wallpaper of your choice and your desktop’s wallpaper will automatically change.
How to Uninstall Wallpapers from Wallpaper Engine?
If there’s a particular wallpaper that you don’t like anymore, you can uninstall it so that it doesn’t clutter up the Wallpaper Engine. Just click on the wallpaper that you want to remove. Then on the right side, click the unsubscribe button.
How to Flip a Wallpaper in Wallpaper Engine?
Just see the wallpaper properties on the right side of the window. You will see the flip option there and just tick the box beside it.
How Do I Create My Own Wallpaper from a Video
On the bottom left of Wallpaper Engine, you will see the Wallpaper Editor. Clicking on it will open another window. Click on Create a Wallpaper and select the video file that you want to use as your wallpaper.
Give your project a name and choose a scheme color then click OK. The file will open on the editor and you will see a preview of the video wallpaper. Click on File, and then Apply Wallpaper.
How Do I Create My Own Wallpaper from a Photo?
Click on Create a Wallpaper and select the photo you want. Give your project a name, choose a scheme color and click OK. The file will open on the editor.
How to Add Effects on Wallpaper Engine Editor
On the right side of the photo, you will see the Properties tab. On the bottom part, you will see Effects. Click on the Add button and choose an effect that you want for your wallpaper. You can choose from many effects such as animate, blur, colorize, distort, and more. You can also adjust the effects according to your liking.
How to Add Assets on Wallpaper Engine Editor
On the left side of the photo, you will see the Add Asset button. You can choose from the asset Presets such as fog, smoke, light shafts and more. You can adjust the presets using the options in the righthand column.
How to Move, Rotate and Resize Assets on Wallpaper Engine Editor
If you want to move or scale the asset that you have added, use the 3D handle to modify the position, rotation, and the size of the assets. Watch the video below to see how it’s done.
How to Add Image Layer on Wallpaper Engine Editor
But what if you want to use the current image as a background and add more images on top of it? You can do that by going to the Renderables under the Add Asset button. Click Add Image Layer to import another image into the editor. Just make sure you are importing an image that supports transparency like PNG if you’re using an irregularly shaped image so that it won’t have a white background around the edges.
You can also add effects for each image layer that you add on the editor. All you need to do is select the layer on the left hand column, and then add and adjust effects on the right hand column.
How to Add Composition Layer on Wallpaper Engine Editor
Sometimes it is necessary to limit an effect to a small part of the wallpaper. You can do this by using a composition layer. Go to Add Assets> Renderables> Composition Layer.
Move the layer over the area where you want to apply the effect. Keep the layer selected and add the effects as usual.
How to Apply the Wallpaper You Have Created
When you are satisfied with the wallpaper you have created, click the OK button to accept the changes you have made. Then click File and then Apply Wallpaper.
Will Wallpapers I Make On Steams Wallpaper Engine Automatically Upload To The Workshop?
No, it will not. Publishing a wallpaper on the Workshop is entirely optional and you have to initiate the upload process if you want to do so.
How Do I Share My Wallpaper on Steam Workshop?
If you want to share your wallpaper to Workshop, just hit to Workshop and then Share Wallpaper on Workshop.
On the dialog box, type in the Title and Description, Choose the Genre, Age Rating, and Visibility. Add a preview image by taking a snapshot or importing a file. When everything is set, hit the Publish button. The item will be then uploaded to the Steam Workshop.
Do you Need Steam Open For Wallpaper Engine?
Steam is required to download new wallpapers, wallpapers, and to install updates. However, all core functionalities of Wallpaper Engine work without Steam running in the background.
Does Steam Wallpaper Engine Affect Game Performance?
Most wallpapers will not have any noticeable effect on most computers. However the performance depends on how complex the specific wallpapers is and your gaming computer set up. By default, the wallpaper will pause when you are playing a game to save computer resources.
Can You Pause or Disable the Wallpaper While Gaming?
You can pause or completely disable the wallpapers while playing games (or all fullscreen / borderless-fullscreen applications in general) by going to the “Performance” tab in the Wallpaper Engine settings. In the playback section, you can choose to keep the Wallpaper Engine running or pause per monitor for the scenarios presented.
Is Steam Wallpaper Engine Safe?
Can Steam Wallpaper Engine give you a virus? The program itself is safe if you downloaded it from Steam.
Now you may be wondering, how safe are the wallpapers you download from Steam Workshop. Can someone put a malicious code on the wallpapers available for download? All scenes, videos, and web-based wallpapers that come through Wallpaper Engine are safe. The only possible threat can come from application wallpapers as they are the only ones which can theoretically contain malicious codes. Avoid using application wallpapers to stay on the safe side. Wallpaper Engine will give you a warning when you try to run an application wallpaper.
Can You Download Wallpaper Engine For Free?
Wallpaper Engine costs under $4 in the United States. Prices will vary outside the US.
There are some websites offering a cracked version of the Wallpaper Engine. But as with other cracked software, downloading such carries some risk.
Also, most of the time, the cracked software won’t let you download a wall paper the usual way. There is a work around for this but it doesn’t always work.
If you still want to know how to connect cracked wallpaper engine to Steam, here is your answer. You have to use another website like SteamWorkshop.download to download the wallpaper from Steam Workshop, and then extract file into your computer. Click on Open Offline Wallpaper on the Wallpaper Engine to run the wallpaper that you have downloaded.
If you don’t want to spend money on Wallpaper Engine, or you are not using Windows, or you don’t use Steam, you can explore other free live wallpaper apps.
Can I Use Wallpaper Engine on Multiple Computers?
You can run Wallpaper Engine on multiple computers. Just keep in mind that Steam will always sync all wallpapers across all computers unless you rely on local backups only.
Is Steam Wallpaper Engine Worth It?
At 4 USD, the Wallpaper Engine is reasonably priced considering that you will have access to tons of wallpapers and can even create your own. However, not everyone wants to spend $4 on just an animated wallpaper. It really depends on the person if they think that four dollars is reasonable for bunch of animated wallpapers.
What if you just want to try it out to see if it is for you? You can buy it to try and then get a refund later in accordance to Steam’s refund policies.
Conclusion
The Steam Wall Paper Engine is an app that lets you use live wallpapers whether 2D or 3D animations, videos, web wallpaper, videos, and even certain applications on your Windows desktop applications. You can also create your own animated wallpaper using the Wallpaper Engine Editor.
I hope this post have answered your questions about Wallpaper Engine.
