Dark_Alex's 2.71 XMB Homebrew Launcher! Homebrew from the Game Menu!

Our PSP "scene" has been lucky enough to have some real legendary characters. First, we had groups like PSP-Dev, later on, MPH. We can't forget Fanjita and Ditlew, and now, joining their ranks at a blistering pace is none other than Dark_Alex. It seems the guy jumps from one big bombshell to the next.

Dark_Alex has just announced that he was busy making a 2.71 XMB homebrew launcher. Now you guys might be wondering how this might be different from Noobz' eLoader. Well, this is another bombshell guys! Dark_Alex has succeeded in being able to launch homebrew from the Game Menu in the PSP's XMB, or the Main menu as some might call it. Big news, huh? Well, it doesn't stop there! If Dark_Alex has his way, this will probably pave the way for kernel mode homebrew launching from the XMB itself!

But for now, the method is limited and can't load "standard" homebrew as we know it (static ELF files) and in order to make use of this XMB Loader, games will have to be ported or created in PRX form:

"Current homebrews are not supported. Since current homebrews are in static elf format, they won't run (they are rejected by the 2.71 kernel). Homebrews for 2.71 have to be in prx format. As mentioned before, homebrew has to be in prx format, at least atm. Furthermore, the main prx, the one in the pbp, has to be an user prx. However this user prx can load unsigned kernel modules from the memory stick, allowing kernel mode apps."

The great thing from the programmers' perspective is the fact that you can load unsigned kernel modules from the Memory Stick. This means that they will get all the freedom which 1.5 has offered until now. For developers who are interested in creating or porting existing programs to be "PRX compatible", you can find information and details in the readme, so we hope to see a flurry of compatible homebrew in the next few days!

You should be warned, this program does write to flash, so as with any flash memory-related programs, be very careful and use at your own risk even if the chances of bricking is extremely remote.

"This program enables homebrew to be run in 2.71 through the XMB. It makes a patch that remains
permanent until hardware reset. Sleep mode won't remove the patch.

Note: this program writes some small files in the flash, ONLY the first time is executed.
IT does NOT rewrite any existing file in the system, it writes new files, so the probabilities of
bricking are practically null."

But, there is a ray of hope. Dark_Alex has said that in future versions, he may patch the kernel to accept static ELFs. That would mean that 2.71 will be able to run all the homebrew which 1.5 is known for! Let's just hope that in the near future, 2.71 can dethrone 1.5 as the "golden firmware". Hey! It doesn't sound all that improbable now. With the great work of people like Dark_Alex and his friends, Fanjita and crew, we're well on our way to making firmware 2.71 the primary homebrew firmware!

Here's the proof-of-concept, directly from Dark_Alex's site. Again, you should be careful before running this since it writes to the flash. Please check out the readme before doing anything else, there's a lot of important information in there.

Download HERE

Source: PSPUpdates & Dark Alex

Making Video Games Accessible: Business Justifications and Design Considerations

From Gamasutra:

Game publishers and developers love to focus on features that will get their titles noticed by the mainstream gaming community, such as graphics and audio. But there is another audience, eager to take part in these games as well. These gamers come from the accessibility community—a community of people with disabilities, as well as those who care about their welfare.

This paper is for game content developers and producers who want to reach this market by adding basic accessibility features to help people with disabilities or impairments. The following topics will be discussed:

What is Accessibility?

Often, when people think of accessibility, they think of things like wheelchair ramps and closed captioning on television. This is because these sorts of accessibility features stand out and are used by those with obvious disabilities. However, accessibility features aren't designed just for those with the most severe disabilities. Among US computer users who range from 18 to 64 years old, 57% (74.2 million) are likely to benefit from the use of accessible technology due to disabilities and impairments that may impact computer use. ("The Market for Accessible Technology: The Wide Range of Abilities and Its Impact on Computer Use," Microsoft Corporation) Being able to turn up a payphone's volume allows people with mild hearing loss to use them. A hand rail on a flight of stairs allows a mobility-impaired person to climb them more easily.

Sometimes, regular features of a product end up being features that can help people with impairments. For instance, someone with a visual impairment can use the contrast settings on a television to make the screen easier to see. A person with Parkinson's disease can use one touch dialing to make it easier to make a telephone call.

Accessibility features generally tend to serve one of five types of disabilities:

• Vision - Blindness, inability to distinguish colors, blurred Vision, etc.

• Hearing - Hard-of-hearing, deafness.

• Speech - Speech impairments, language differences.

• Mobility - Wrist, arm, leg, and hand impairments.

• Cognitive - Learning impairments and reasoning challenges, including dyslexia.

In the context of video games, adding accessibility means making a title usable to someone with one of these disabilities.

Read the full text here...

Brannon Zahand
September 20, 2006

Source: Gamasutra

Daedalus "Spiff Up" v1.0

Daedalus "Spiff Up", a.k.a. Daedalus Wally, has got a new release for you all to enjoy! Making graphical changes on the popular N64 emulator Daedalus, Wally the developer is leaving the N64 emulator's optimizations to StrmnNrmn.

Some of the improvements that can be found are in Micro Machines, with now visible characters, and a slightly better map. For Super Smash Bros, the characters may look weird not having facial detail, but hey, at least now they're all in one piece. Besides, Wally the developer promised that it will be fixed in the future. Also enjoyable in the new release is the "fun to watch" intro and visible Nintendo logo.

The developer also notes that to get this game playable, you have to turn DYNAREC off. According to him, this doesn't seem to be getting ingame without support of PSPLink, but he swears it goes ingame. The screenshot above is testament to his claim.

Here's a list of the other changes from Wally:

• World is not enough: Not many fixes here except the carpet is red where you start and walls have less black dots, this needs more experience
• Diddy Kong Racing: Some Text at start
• I'm trying to figure out why it stays blue,
• I think it has something to do with the way the blending is done
• These fixes may fix some other problems in some other games, however its not guaranteed.

So basically, while there are many graphical fixes to share, there isn't much optimizations done. Wally admits that there sure is still a lot to learn, a lot to implement, but definitely it will all be done (within this lifetime, hopefully). So check out this Nintendo 64 Emulator for the PSP.

By the way, a little caveat from Wally: Please do not ask how to add graphics. He says that it would make it hard for himself and StrmmNrmm "when it comes to 100000 separated Daedalus builds. Also explaining every fine detail to you is impossible". Besides, he is not a professional encoder, so there. The fixes are also not related to speed, speedups, or compatibility.

Plus, Wally says v.10 of his Daedalus "Spiff up" is all thanks to:

sRoon - Providing mux files and feedback
Infernomax - Testing & feedback & Mux files
Briggzy11 - Testing & feedback & Mux files
Video_Freak - Testing & Feedback
Tatsujin - Providing mux files and feedback
SkaterDude - Gave me the idea of adding graphics
Yourself - For viewing this

Download HERE



Source: PSPUpdates

Ubisoft execs not happy with recent information leak

Regarding that little boo-boo that some Ubisoft personnel recently made, the game company has finally broken its silence and has expressed a lot of dissatisfaction about the entire information leak. To quote from the Ubisoft executives:

We are clearly displeased that confidential information from Ubisoft has been distributed on the internet. The publication of this type of information can only be harmful to the game development process and we will take all steps necessary to prevent this from happening in the future. We are still investigating the events that lead to this information leak and at this time have no further comment.

To recap those who may not have heard of it yet, some sleepy personnel over at the Ubisoft offices recently uploaded a .rar file onto their FTP server that contained up to 2GB worth of concept art, screenshots, and other assets for PSP game titles, some of which are yet unannounced. Titles that were spied among the said material included:

• Assassin's Creed
• Farcry 2
• Farcry PSP
• Farcry Wii
• Lost
• Naruto
• OpenSeason
• Prince of Persia
• RB6: Vegas
• Rocky PSP
• Splinter Cell 4
• Splinter Cell 5
• Surf's Up
• Star Wars PSP
• Shaun White (Snowboarding game)
• TMNT
• TMNT GBA

Fortunately (or maybe unfortunately), Ubisoft was quick to find this leak and the offending file was immediately removed from their servers to prevent the further spreading of supposedly confidential material. So much for the element of surprise, but that's okay since it's rather impossible to not love the company who has brought us the Prince of Persia trilogy for the PS2 and will soon be bringing us Assassin's Creed. However, how this will affect their strategies for the said games can only be guessed.

As for the person who has placed the confidential information online whether deliberately or accidentally... Well, he really shouldn't have used up all his Sands of Time in one go. It would have been really handy right now.

Source: PSPUpdates