Actually, now that I look at it, there is no apply button.  The only way I can change dreams is to directly click on the dream in the filesystem.

I'm running a combo of win 8.1, deskscapes 8.09, fences 2.11, modermix 1.12, start8 1.30.1

Deskscapes does not start after windows has been loaded. If you right-click>configure deskscapes and select a dream, dekstop becomes black even after clicking "Apply to my desktop" button.

I also converted my account from local to online, I don't know if its connected or not.

The blackout when applying any wallpaper is something I noticed over a month ago when the RTM was released on TechNet. It happens when running DeskScapes alone without any other Stardock programs.

But the devs probably are fully aware of the issue and are in the process of fixing it.

Here's the fix for window 8.1 and Deskscapes. 1) Go onto the web and find a version of Directx 9 (any version will do as long as its Direct x 9) from a none Microsoft website as Microsoft will stop you from installing Direct X9.  2) Run the setup file.exe found in the now downloaded version of Direct x).  3) Once complete, install version 8.00 of Deskscapes (non-beta).  All should be well:)

Just tried this and DeskScapes 8.0  seems to be working perfectly under Windows 8.1 General Availability Release (with Media Center). In fact, it is working better than it ever did under 7/8.0 because the Desktop icon text labels are now clear not fuzzy (although to be fair, I have a newer video card since I ran 8.0 as AMD and Adobe dropped support for Radeon HD4x series on 8.1 and Photoshop CC stopped working as a result).

Now, I was waiting on an 8.1 release because the forums gave the impression that the DeskScapes 8.09 Beta was there to make it work under 8.1 (implying that the 8.0 version was not safe to use). Now I am wondering if the Beta is just for new features such as an animated Desktop tile and animated backgrounds to the Start Screen?

I also seem to remember trying it on 8.1 RTM and having serious problems, but I have had so many things to do with the 8.1 migration it all seems a vague memory.

Or is it that Microsoft made it work on 8.1 with the GA patches without anyone noticing?

Of course, I would emphasise do not install DirectX 9 from non-Microsoft sites. Just use the DirectX 9.0c package provided on Microsoft.com - you can then be sure it is not compromised. At the moment I am not sure if my new 8.1 build has DirectX 9.0c either - I may be waiting until I install a program that needs it.

I take it back - if you use DeskScapes interface exclusively, all is well. If you use the built-in Personalize dialog to go back to ordinary wallpaper, instabilities appear (intermittent paused video, intermittent blank background).