macOS displays image out of order

[larryqiann]

I have created a dynamic wallpaper using this app and the Solar option, using the calculator, but sometimes the images are displayed out of order on macOS Ventura.

I have recreated it again with the latest version of the app and it appears a similar problem still exists. When it is morning (usually near noon), one of the images (first sunset-ty image) is displayed, and the rest are displayed correctly.

This is a link to the created file:
https://files.catbox.moe/2dpl49.heic

Thanks!

[andrealufino]

It happens also to me. There's something wrong with images in the middle of the day. @rlxone maybe you already know what this could be.

[rlxone]

I don't have a clear explanation. I checked the file that you've shared - metadata is fine, I didn't notice anything specific. Actually, it works without the bug you described for me in my location. Basically, macOS triggers wallpaper updates N times per day and when the trigger point occurs it determines the closest image to the sun from a set that you created based on altitude and azimuth. So i have only one point on top of my head:

• Altitude and azimuth you provided for the sunset image are not actually the coordinates when the sunset happens in the real word. Ideally, your images coordinates should match the real world environment.

From my experience it's better to pass these checks to create a good-quality dynamic wallpaper based on the sun coordinates:

• Use at least 5 or more images. (like Apple does)
• Distribute the coordinates of your images across the whole day timeline (24 hours).
• Ideally, your coordinate-image pair should match the real word environment to avoid situations where you see the wrong image for the particular time of the day.

P.S. I have plans to improve the calculator to make it more understandable for people. At least I could implement the better day timeline (add sunrise, sunset, noon, etc.), add image references, so people can see what image is better to choose for a particular coordinate.
P.S.S. Your wallpaper is great, nice job! I'd recommend you to tweak the sunset coordinates a bit to resolve the issue.

[zgosalvez]

Same here. I've set my day image to solar noon, but the image shown is my sunset image.

[larryqiann]

I'm starting to wonder whether setting the time to something that's not whole hours would help too, because maybe that's where the OS is getting confused

I think the problem came and went for me, it wasn't super consistent either, i.e. it was only sometimes a problem, and only on one of my computers running the same versions. It almost felt like a race condition.

As for the physical location, the wallpaper is from a game, so there's no real world location for it. I tried to match up the times and the phases with my physical location at the time I created it, which seemed to work out fairly well (maybe the game is following that), which is how I decided how to assign the times.

[notDavid]

Same issue here... Netherlands / GMT+2 timezone, macOS Sonoma 14.0.