Hacking the PSP Blog

Devhook launcher port updated: 2.71 Flash support

Dark_AleX has just updated his Devhook launcher port to support 2.71 flashing. Clueless what it means? Stick with us here, we'll tell you what it does.

People might remember Booster's last version of Devhook before the whole mess. That version allowed people to flash a part of the firmware dump to the flash to speed up the loading of Devhooked firmware. While this was a bit dangerous, some people still tried it just to save those few extra seconds.

The previous version of the Devhook launcher did not support this because it was incompatible. It now seems that Dark_AleX has figured out how to accomplish the 2.71 devhook flash loading.

Here's what's in his readme:

"Note: i've hacked msreboot.bin in this version to have support of direct flash in 2.71.
However you cannot have direct flash 2.71 and 2.71 emulation at the same time (the emulation
of the rest of firmwares is not affected by this).

If for some reason you prefer emulate 2.71 in your 2.71 instead of the direct flash thing, just
go to the folder dh/kd in the root, and rename msreboot.bin to something else, and msreboot_original.bin
to msreboot.bin"

Download HERE

Source: PSPUpdates

TGS 2006: MGS GPS

Sony's GPS add-on for PSP (which lets the handheld connect to the Global Positioning System network to allow users to know exactly where they are in the world on a map or by coordinates) was big news when it was announced, but exact usage in games has been a big question for buyers. At TGS 2006, SCE had the GPS on hand and showed what it would do in a number of educational and service titles (including the Homestar Portable astronomy app and a version of the EDIA digital mapping program), but game use was shown only in tiny portions (and nothing playable, by the way -- in fact, the TGS demos were not even live, instead just showing rolling demos of what would have happened had the units been active.)

Metal Gear Solid: Portable Ops is, of course, one of two major games to make use of the GPS device (the other is Hot Shots Golf Portable.) Konami detailed out the features that this new GPS implementation provides the game. Instead of the GPS factoring into gameplay, the unit will in this game be helpful in use in the special Scavenger Hunt for comrades that MGS: PO uses in its HotSpot hiring feature. In the game, you can try to connect to local internet WiFi points, which will (even if you just ping the router) return powered-up characters to your game for use in the Comrade system. Various levels of characters are "stored" for various IP addresses and zones, so you'll never know what you'll get when you connect. The GPS, therefore, can be used to hook up with GPS satellites to determine where you are in the world and to perhaps guide you towards known HotSpots that might give you secret and powerful bonus characters.

As a gameplay feature, this implementation of GPS isn't much, but as a Geocaching stunt, it's pretty cool and it offers gamers a much better chance of finding good comrades. The GPS has not been officially announced for release in America, so Konami has not decided yet whether to carry the feature over exactly as is or what to do with this ability in the English-language version, but the Japanese game will feature it in its full capacity.

September 23, 2006

Source: IGN

LuaPlayer 0.16 Now With WiFi Scanning!

Youresam, the creator of the online Lua Library known to developers as netlib has released yet another online application today, this one being a LuaPlayer v0.16 modification which allows it to scan for WiFi access points! This is a modification and therefore LuaPlayer v0.16 is still required, this new file simply overwrites a few of the old files and adds the WiFi scanning function. For those developers interested in developing homebrew applications that may use these functions, here's the code:

• Wlan.scanInit() - Activates the wifi
• Wlan.scan() -Returns a table similar to System.listDirectory(), except you have .name, .mac, and .strength (EXAMPLE: gotscan = Wlan.scan(), gotscan[1].name is the first wireless points name)
• Wlan.scanTerm() -Turns off the wifi

Remember this though, do not try to use the Wlan.scanInit() if the Wlan switch on your PSP is off as this will crash the PSP. Have fun! It may not be as glorious as the XMB's WiFi scanning tool but it certainly does the job. Thanks for the tip TheMarioKarters!

Download HERE



Source: PSPUpdates

TGS 06: PSPs show their colors

TOKYO--While much of the focus at Sony Computer Entertainment's booth during the Tokyo Game Show was on the PlayStation 3, the company wasn't about to let attendees forget about its PlayStation Portable. In addition to showing off its latest games for the handheld and providing a demo download area, Sony had glassed-in showcases featuring a lineup of PSPs in new color variations.

Earlier this year, Sony Europe announced that it was releasing a pink PSP in the region in October. Now it appears that Sony Japan will follow suit, as it showed off a pink version of the PSP on the show floor. However, SCEJ is doing Japan one better, as a silver PSP was also on display. Both the silver and pink versions were confirmed to hit the Japanese market sometime soon. There was also a pink slimline PlayStation 2 (previously announced for Europe) on display, but Sony did not reveal if it too was being released in Japan.

Sony also took the opportunity to show off a few other stylish PSP color variations, although they were strictly prototypes and are not planned for release anywhere. One showcase had red, blue, and yellow PSPs, all with a metallic sheen, while another showcase featured two PSPs with different camouflage patterns. Sony did a similar multihued PSP blitz back at E3 2004 when the portable was first announced.

Hirohiko Niizumi
September 23, 2006









Source: Gamespot

Latest news about 0okm's TA-082 downgrader

I'm sure all of you TA-082ers have been waiting with bated breath for 0okm's downgrader. And I wouldn't blame you - 1.5 land is magical, if you know what I mean. Well, granted that with the few big news lately, 1.5 is slowly starting to lose its shine to firmware 2.71, you still have to realise that the bulk of homebrew is made for 1.5 and thus, will have a few problems in 2.71.

When 0okm's downgrader news spread on the internet, people became restless. A few weeks down the line though, and there's hardly any information from him. Was he successful? Did he run into some problems? Thank 0okm because his latest entry in his blog is a nice update to all his fans:

"encounters some difficulties in the programming :(
diligently to solve :)
Please wait :P

when "TA-082 SoftDown" Release
it can support FW2.71(Original FW2.50)
if your PSP is "Original FW2.50"
feel free update to FW2.71 :)"

So, there you have it. I bet he's probably finished about 70% of the coding. And I'd trust him to get this thing finished before long. The other good news is that his downgrader will be supported on firmware 2.71. So all you TA-082ers, feel free to update to 2.71! It's got loads of goodies lately and it's where the party could be within the next few months!



Source: PSPUpdates & 0okm

Homebrew Enabler for 2.71 (Revision B) Starts PSP Utopia

Dark_Alex must still be popping and sipping champagne, as he becomes the toast of the PSP scene with his latest offering, the 2.71 XMB Homebrew Launcher. In our humble opinion, we can all start dreaming of a future where all PSP firmwares have kernel mode homebrew launching direct from the XMB, because being able to launch homebrew from the Game Menu is just the dawning of a PSP Utopia.

Changelog:

Revision B (24 September)

• Some kernel PRX's didn't load because the kernel tried to load them to user partition. This problem affected DevHook.prx and some other kernel prx's. This problem has been fixed.

Revision B with better binary loader in the tiff (25 September)

• Changed the binary loader to use the one from tiffsdk 1.1 that has better stability. No changes on the core.

And in this Utopia there wouldn't be any copycats.

Here are some installation notes and reminders straight from Dark_Alex:

Update Instruction for people with revision A installed:

To update from HEN revision A to B, hard reset your psp (to make sure that hen is not running). Then copy the new files to the memory stick and run the tif. The new files will be automatically updated.

People without any version of hen installed, just follow the instructions below:


- Copy all contents inside MS_ROOT to the root of your memory stick.
- Go to the PHOTO viewer of the XMB and enter in the folder "HENB".
- If the psp just freeze, reboot your psp and try again. Currently the tiff is very unstable and it is only executed sometimes. I'll try to improve that in the future.

- The first time you run the program, you will see quickly a blue screen, and after that a screen that can be of two colors:

• Red: the files couldn't be written to the flash (it ha pens a few times). Just keep trying.
• Green: The files were written successfully. After that, the xmb will be rebooted. Now you can run the homebrew in format prepared for 2.71. (see details below).

- As mentioned before, the patch will remain resident in memory, and even entering sleep mode won't delete it. Only a hardware reset will remove the program from memory.

- When you do a hardware reset, you'll have to run the tiff again. This time there won't be green or red screen, just a blue screen and xmb reboot, since this time there is no need to write to the flash.

Note: the files pspbtknf.txt, pspbtknf_game.txt, pspbtknf_updater, and systemctrl.prx in the root of the memory stick are only needed the first time the program is executed. After that you can delete those. However, don't delete patch.bin, h.bin and the folder with the tiff, since you will need those the next time you do a hard reset and want to run the program again.

Note 2: Once the program is loaded, it is independent of the memory stick contents. So you can freely swap memory sticks.

Download HERE

Source: PSPUpdates