The twelfth preview build of the new in-development Desktop+ version is now available. Not dead yet.
These builds are supposed to give a glimpse into the ongoing development process.
The NewUI branch should be fine for daily use if you can live with the missing features. Don't treat it as stable, however, as it just isn't.
While bugs are to be expected and there are a few known issues already, feel free to report anything you find in the [url=https://steamcommunity.com/app/1494460/discussions/0/4897088319057449181/]NewUI Preview Build bug report thread[/url].
[h2]What is Desktop+ NewUI?[/h2]
Desktop+ NewUI is what eventually will become Desktop+ 3.0.
See the [url=https://steamcommunity.com/games/1494460/announcements/detail/2984183718087120351]announcement post[/url] for the NewUI Preview Build 1 for more details.
[h2]What's new in Desktop+ NewUI Preview 12?[/h2]
[img]{STEAM_CLAN_IMAGE}/39315717/b2fdca4bff34350d64dc4dc6fd784633317b1b39.png[/img]
[b]Revamped Actions[/b]
Actions are now fully back and better than before. They now are composed of individual commands which allows for an action to do multiple things at once.
While the goal is not provide a full macro solution (consider using the Launch Application command to run something like that on demand), it expands the list of possibilities.
The current set of commands covers previously available functionality, plus a few additional options and a Set Mouse Position command.
Built-in actions have been converted to normal actions with their respective commands available to use in any other action.
Existing legacy actions are converted to the new ones on launch. The previous by default existing custom actions are replaced by new defaults and not converted, but this will fail if they were renamed, so watch out for potential double entries.
The new actions are stored in a separate actions.ini file and use unique 64-bit numbering as IDs. This avoids breakage with references across multiple profiles and configs.
[b]Overlay Tags[/b]
Overlay tags replace the previously available overlay group IDs. Instead of just assigning overlays a number, it is now possible to assign one or more tags. These tags are then used for matching specific overlays as action targets.
Tags are always inclusive. Adding multiple tags to an overlay matches it for each of them and adding multiple tags for targeting checks each tag individually for matching targets (i.e. does not require multiple tags on a target).
There's also a set of implicit auto-tags that matches based on the overlay properties, though nothing is stopping one from adding them manually to an overlay as well.
The "Toggle Overlay Group X Enabled State" SteamVR input actions have been removed.
Their functionality is now covered by binding an action as a global shortcut that has a Show Overlay command set to toggle.
To compensate for the lost input action slots, "Do Global Shortcut" now goes up for 6. This is a temporary measure while I look for a neater solution, but I didn't want to delay the update further for this.
[b]Other Changes[/b]
[list]
[*]Added workaround for window detection of WPF application windows (their class names contain randomized parts)
[*]Added hidden setting to override desktop mode UI scaling (check config_default.ini for details)
[*]Fixed Gaze Fade getting stuck when drag mode is active (defaults to most visible opacity instead)
[*]Fixed log file rotation always creating a new log file after the first week
[*]Restored custom action order properties for individual overlays
[*]Removed separate Action Editor (all settings are available in the main window now)
[*]Various other minor UI fixes and adjustments
[/list]
The NewUI Preview branch also includes all changes of the stable branch up until now (v.2.8.1).
Browser overlays are available in the separate [i]NewUI Preview + Browser[/i] branch, as explained in the initial [url=https://store.steampowered.com/news/app/1494460/view/3206010024839056810]browser overlay announcement[/url].
Action overhaul took way too long, but it's finally done. This release was somewhat rushed near the end, so I hope it works alright.
With that, we're actually close to the finish line for 3.0, at least in terms of the pure feature set. There's still things to come, however. Stay tuned.
[h2]Gamescom 2023[/h2]
I'll once again be present at Gamescom with my good friends of the DragonBox Shop (from August 23rd to the 27th). We're in the retro area in hall 10.2, booth E060.
While the booth isn't Desktop+-related at all, if you happen to attend, feel free to come by, say hi, and check out some retro games and not so retro devices. Queuing up is [i]not[/i] required.
That'd be all for now.