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November 30, 2025

Dynamic theming, performance optimizations, and dashboard improvements

🎨 Desktop Launcher - Dynamic Theming System and Custom Backgrounds!

NEW FEATURE: Complete dynamic theme customization for your launcher!

Example Game with Purple Theme and Custom Background
Available Themes in the Dashboard

What's New:

  • Theme Manager - New dynamic theming system with color presets

  • Custom Colors - Choose theme colors for panels, buttons, and UI elements

  • Custom Backgrounds - Set custom background images and opacity

  • Glass Panel Themes - Configurable glass effects with dynamic opacity

  • Preset Support - Pre-configured color schemes for quick theming

  • Live Updates - Theme changes apply instantly without restart

Appearance Options:

  • Panel background colors and transparency

  • Button hover effects and backgrounds

  • Glass blur effects and opacity

  • Solid backgrounds for better readability

🖼️ Desktop Launcher - Custom Backgrounds, Overlay and Transparency

NEW FEATURE: Set custom backgrounds for your launcher with per-app customization!

Background Image for the Launcher
Custom background for the app

What's New:

  • Default Launcher Background - Set a default background image for the entire launcher

  • Per-App Custom Backgrounds - Override the default background for specific games/apps

  • Background Opacity Control - Adjust background transparency (Subtle, Default, Medium, Strong)

    • Subtle (1%)

    • Default (15%)

    • Medium (30%)

    • Strong (50%)

  • Overlay Darkness Control - Control background darkness with preset levels:

    • None (0%)

    • Light (30%)

    • Default (50%)

    • Dark (70%)

    • Very Dark (90%)

  • Live Preview - See changes in real-time before applying to your launcher

  • Recommended Specs - JPG or PNG format, 1920×1080, 5MB max

  • Subtle Opacity Display - Backgrounds display with subtle opacity for better UI readability

Perfect For:

  • Brand customization with your studio logo or artwork

  • Game-specific backgrounds that match each title's theme

  • Creating a unique launcher experience for your users

⚡ Desktop Launcher - Performance Optimizations

Major Performance Improvements! Smoother animations and better resource management.

Performance Enhancements:

  • Performance Mode - New mode that optimizes launcher during gameplay

  • Image Caching - Improved preloading and caching system reduces flicker

  • GIF Optimization - Enhanced GIF rendering with XamlAnimatedGif library

  • Async Loading - Background images and icons load asynchronously

  • Window Drag - Async DragMove implementation for smoother window movement

  • Faster Animations - Reduced animation durations across all UI elements

  • Thread Safety - Better thread management for image operations

Visual Improvements:

  • Reduced Effects - Optimized blur and shadow effects for better performance

  • Hover Effects - Enhanced hover darkening effects for news and game covers

  • Resource Management - Better memory usage with improved image loading

🌍 Desktop Launcher - Environment Management & Environments with Access Codes

Better Environment Control! Aliases, enable/disable functionality, and beta access codes.

NEW: Private Betas
App Environments (Production has "Released" alias, Staging is Disabled, and New is a Hidden environment)

↓

Production Environment is show as "Released", Staging is disabled completely, and "New" is hidden until the user verify the code

What's New:

  • Hidden Environments with Access Codes - Developers can now:

    • Hide Environments - Mark environments as hidden from regular users

    • Set Access Codes - Add a code that only authorized users can enter

    • User Control - Users can unlock hidden environments by entering the access code in the launcher

    • Perfect for Beta & Testing - Control when and who gets access to staging, beta, or testing environments

  • Environment Aliases - Display friendly names for environments

  • Enable/Disable - Toggle environments on/off without removing them

  • Better Selection - Improved environment selection interface

  • Library Control - Renamed "All Games" to "Library" for clarity

🎨 Dashboard - Dynamic Theming & Environment Access

NEW FEATURE: Dashboard now supports dynamic theme customization and beta environment access!

Launcher Appearance Customization:

  • Custom Backgrounds - Upload custom background images for your launcher

  • Appearance Options - Configure visual settings directly from the dashboard

  • Live Preview - See changes before deploying to users

  • Easy Management - Update launcher appearance without rebuilding

Environment Management:

  • Hidden Environments with Access Codes - Developers can now:

    • Hide Environments - Mark environments as hidden from regular users

    • Set Access Codes - Add a code that only authorized users can enter

    • User Control - Users can unlock hidden environments by entering the access code in their launcher

    • Perfect for Beta & Testing - Control when and who gets access to staging, beta, or testing environments

  • Environment Aliases - Configure friendly display names for environments

  • Environment Visibility - Toggle environment visibility directly from settings

  • Assignment Warnings - Clear warnings when assigning apps to launchers

  • Environment Editing - New dialog for editing environment settings with validation

🎯 Desktop Launcher - UI/UX Improvements

Smart UI Adaptation! Launcher interface now adapts based on launcher type and content.

Adaptive Interface:

  • Single-App vs Multi-App Detection - Library panel and AllGamesControl automatically hide for Single-App launchers

  • Smart Slideshow - Slideshow player controls hide automatically when only one news item exists

  • Smart Executable Dropdown - Secondary executable dropdown only shows when in play status and secondary executable is enabled, hidden in all other states

  • Dynamic Layout - UI elements adjust automatically for a cleaner, context-appropriate experience

🔧 Technical Improvements & Bug Fixes

Code Quality:

  • Code Refactoring - Cleaner codebase with better organization

  • Dynamic Resources - Enhanced ComboBox UI with theme-based styling

  • Library Updates - Updated to XamlAnimatedGif for better GIF support

  • Image Loading - Refactored to use async/await and HttpClient

  • UI Controls - Improved SubNews control management

Bug Fixes:

  • Launcher Icon Update - Fixed launcher icon in main window not updating correctly

  • SubNews Layout - SubNews now adjusts position downward for consistency when announcements are hidden or panels adapt to launcher type

  • Image Flicker - Fixed flicker issues in background and favorite game icons

  • Logo Blur - Renamed Icon_Blur to Logo_Blur for consistency

  • Glass Backgrounds - Added GlassBackgroundSolid brush for opaque UI elements

  • Thread Safety - Fixed race conditions in image cache operations

Update Now! Download the latest desktop launcher to experience all these improvements and features.

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