Hacking the PSP Blog

Updated GPS software to save you from disasters

While the rest of the world has been denied access to PSP's GPS accessory, Sony is releasing a more advanced version of Minna no Chizu, the GPS software, in Japan. The new software, which must be purchased in stores, includes some new features:

• Petamap: a database of user-submitted points of interest.
• PlaceEngine: software that determines your location based on nearby wi-fi points
• Pedestrian navigation routes, which include shortcuts through parks, tunnels, etc.
• Disaster relief centers: just in case.

Many Americans have been wondering when the GPS accessory will ever be made available for use here. Unfortunately, Sony hasn't been too keen on releasing details. (Maybe when, or if, they release new colors?) Interested individuals can import the title, but note that US support will require the use of homebrew. Or play lots of Metal Gear Solid.

Andrew Yoon
March 18, 2007

Source: PSP Fanboy

Off Topic: Jack Thompson responds to Take-Two lawsuit

Here's the latest from Joystiq in the Jack Thompson and Take-Two saga over the release of Grand Theft Auto IV and Manhunt 2 and Take-Two's public nuisance lawsuit against Thompson:

Last weekend we reported that Jack Thompson plans to sue Take-Two over concerns about the release of Manhunt 2 and Grand Theft Auto IV. A few days ago Take-Two countered saying that Thompson was simply bringing another nuisance suit to the courts. Thus, the circle of Jack Thompson life continues. We could attempt to ignore Jack Thompson the same way the Associated Press attempted to ignore Paris Hilton, but then we couldn't tell you about Jack's latest email to the press (full text after the break).

Thompson begins by saying that he has been "praying" for Take-Two to sue him and that this "misstep would enable [him] to destroy Take-Two" and his "prayers are finally answered." He then goes on to quote scripture. He closes with, "Amen, and Praise be to God Almighty, maker of Heaven, Earth, and yes, the maker even video games." This is a whole new level for Jack Thompson. Get ready to experience Thompson v2.0.

Dear Gamers and Gamer Publications on the Internet and Elsewhere:

I have been praying, literally, that Take-Two and its lawyers would do something so stupid, so arrogant, so dumb, even dumber than what they have to date done, that such a misstep would enable me to destroy Take-Two. With the filing of this SLAPP lawsuit last week, my prayers are finally answered.

This lawsuit, filed in US District Court for the Southern District of Florida, is, without a doubt, the single dumbest thing I have ever seen any lawyers do in my thirty years of practicing law -- while in continuous good standing to do so with The Florida Bar, I might add, the shock radio and video game industry's efforts notwithstanding.

I encourage folks to read Psalm 35, a Psalm of David, which is brilliant in its entirety (since God Himself wrote it), but for those who don't own a Bible or who think their hands will catch on fire if they touch one, here is the salient portion that applies to this lawsuit:

7 For without cause have they hid for me their net in a pit,
which without cause they have digged for my soul.

8 Let destruction come upon him at unawares;
and let his net that he hath hid catch himself:
into that very destruction let him fall.

9 And my soul shall be joyful in the LORD:
it shall rejoice in his salvation.

The pit Take-Two has dug for itself will be patently clear next week when I strike back. Oh, and by the way, the entire Take-Two management and board will be gone on March 23, so this pit-digging comes at a very bad time indeed.

Amen, and Praise be to God Almighty, maker of Heaven, Earth, and yes, the maker even video games.

Jack Thompson

Alexander Sliwinski
March 18, 2007

Source: Joystiq

E for All sees boost to four days; new ticket and exhibitor info

Originally scheduled as a three-day event at the Los Angeles Convention Center, E for All has been extended an extra day spanning October 18-21st.

Ticket Sales
There will be multiple ways in which you can purchase a ticket. General admission tickets will go on sale June 1st and advanced pre-sale tickets roughly one month before that. The advanced pre-sale tickets are going to be a hot item, explained Dohaler, because "Those tickets will offer premium seating at the Video Games Live Concert, tournaments, and early admission onto the show floor." In addition to the VIP treatment, "Pre-sale tickets will include two invitations that people can pass on to a friend for purchase," said Dolaher, much like Gmail in its early beta stage. Pricing is as of yet unannounced.

As for early admission onto the show-room floor, advanced pre-sale ticket holders will be allowed one hour of early access to E for All before general admission.

Advertising
When the time comes, E for All is going to take over Hollywood - literally. IDG will be renting the Hollywood sign and replacing the "Y" with the E for All "E" logo, filling subways with posters, shrink wrapping buses, and lighting up adjacent downtown buildings. "It's a massive marketing campaign," said Dolaher.

Gaming Tournaments
Since E for All is open to the general public, and many children will be in attendance, Dolaher made it a point to carefully choose a tournament company that would not feature the most violent of games. There will be ESRB-rating signs at each station so parents know what array of games they will see in a particular area.
Concerts

The Nokia Theatre has been acquired for the Video Games Live Concert and the external-plaza area will hold another marquee concert on a different night.

Floor Space
"The robust exhibitor interest we've received indicates we will have an extremely full South Hall" of the Los Angeles Convention Center, said Dolaher. Hardware companies will be allowed a maximum booth size of 7,000 square feet, while software companies can max out at 5,000 square feet. Dolaher said that the average booth will likely be 2,500 square feet.

A separate area in Kentia Hall has been reserved for companies that plan to sell products at the show.

GamePro Staff
March 16, 2007

Source: GamePro

StrmnNrmn Updates Daedalus R10 Progress

StrmnNrmn's been up to quite a bit in the past week an he's posted his progress on Daedalus R10 optimizations on his blog. He noted that many of the tweaks that he's found are in addition to the list that he came up with a couple weeks ago. Here's what StrmnNrmn had to say about the next version of his N64 emulator:

Firstly, I finally managed to get Daedalus compiling with GCC's '-O3' setting. This flag turns on all of the optimisations that GCC provides. When I've tried to enable this flag in the past I've had numerous strange crashes and odd behaviour, so all releases of Daedalus to date have been compiled with -O1.

I updated my local installation of the PSPSDK last weekend and decided to try the -O3 setting again. I was pleased to find that Daedalus ran without crashing, but there was still some odd behaviour which I eventually tracked down to my use of the famous InvSqrt function. You can read a bit more about my findings on the pspdev forums.

Enabling -O3 tends to slightly increase the code size (the EBOOT.PBP has increased from around 850KB to 900KB), but the speedup is quite noticable - my estimate is that Daedalus runs around 5% faster with -O3 over -O1.

As a result of the thread I started on the pspdev forums, hlide and Raphael both came up with some great suggestions for how I could optimise my use of the VFPU.

When I originally wrote the VFPU code for TnL and clipping there were still many undocumented/unsupported functions. A few months down the line and hlide and co have discovered a couple of instructions which are perfect for my needs - namely vuc2i and vc2i. These two functions take a 32-bit value comprising of 4 (un)signed 8-bit chars and unpack them into a vector of 4 32-bit fixed point numbers. It turns out that these instructions are perfect for converting the N64's packed colour and normal values into a format I can use in the VFPU code.

The various VFPU tweaks I've made have given Daedalus another 5% or so speedup.

The final set of changes I've been working on this week have been to do with how I handle certain blend modes. Some of the N64 blend modes are too complex for the PSP to deal with precisely, so I have a large table of 'override' blend modes which allow me to make as good an approximation of the N64 mode as possible. It turned out that looking up these blend modes was very expensive, so I've rewritten how this is handled to make it more efficient. The end result is another small speedup.

Overall these three changes give a combined 10-15% speedup on the various games I've tested, although there are roms that lie outside this range (some show an even greater speedup while others are more or less unaffected by the changes).

There's still quite a lot more in the way of optimisations that I want to get in for Daedalus R10 (mostly stuff I mentioned earlier) so hopefully these numbers will improve even further over the next couple of weeks.

Source: Retro Console Dev

Steering wheel mod for the PSP

Neubit and the rest of the gang from Acidmods are cooking up something really tasty in their backyard. The YouTube video below exhibits their steering wheel mod for your PSP. Yup, it's specifically designed for all you racing junkies out there, so be sure to get a good grip on it once it gets finished.

Now, according to Neubit, as it is but a work in progress, he still has yet to wire up a connection jack yet. And in case you're wondering just how holistic this mod is, unfinished as it may be, there are also the Brake and Gas pedals. Actually, this is the PS2 steering wheel hooked up to the PSP.

Video here...

Source: PSPUpdates