Ultimate VSH Menu v1.06: Full VSH Menu

Homebrew dev Total_Noob is back with an update to Ultimate VSH Menu, plugging a "perfect" recovery menu. This version has bug fixes as well as several new features, and is now fully compatible with CFW 5.00 M33-6. Here's the changelog:

Changelog v1.06:

• Now, "RECOVERY MENU" work PERFECT
• Now you can select "EXIT" to exit recovery menu with save
• "Run program at /PSP/GAME/RECOVERY/EBOOT.PBP" work now
• Exit recovery menu without save, with SELECT or HOME
• Added "AUTORUN PROGRAM" to autoboot program at /PSP/GAME/BOOT/EBOOT.PBP
• Added a function to fix the "Autorun program at /PSP/GAME/BOOT/EBOOT.PBP" function
• Fixed all bugs of the Ultimate VSH Menu
• Compatible 100% with the CFW 5.00 M33-6
• It's now almost similar to the M33 VSH Menu
• Alpha color function
• After change CPU speed, the cpu speed is changed
• After change usb device, you can connect the usb with the current device
• Show current battery serial
• Now, you must only press LEFT and RIGHT to select the battery serial
• Exit Ultimate VSH Menu with HOME is possibility
• Added a simple installer for noobs

Notes:

• "LOAD EBOOT" is at /PSP/GAME/VSHMENU/EBOOT.PBP
• Sorry for my english, because I'm from Switzerland

Download: Ultimate VSH Menu v.1.06

PSP homebrew: Netfront Internet Browser (beta)

If you're one to heavily use your PSP's browser, you must have come across certain limitations. This homebrew browser mod allows you to curtail that restriction. Netfront Internet Browser from Team P86 (the same guys who did PMP VLC Player) allows you to use a huge chunk of your PSP's memory to have an easier time browsing.

Says coder Ardatan:

• You know, Sony limits our memory in Internet Browser. So we cannot play big flash games and open big web sites.
• This mod removes this limitation. And you can use all of the memory that your PSP has.
• If your PSP is Fat, the HighMemMod uses all of 32 MB RAM.
• If your PSP is Slim, the HighMemMod uses all of 64 MB RAM!!!

Note that this app is still in beta so there are limitations and maybe some bugs here and there. For now, you can try it out, check out how it works, if there's going to be any difference in page loading. If you got any feedback, suggestions, and/or questions, head over to the forums through the link below.


Download: Netfront Internet Browser

PSP homebrew - Ultimate PSPTube 2.0: new sites, bugfixes, more

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DiRT 2 - Debut teaser, new features

Here we've got the video debut teaser for Codemasters' DiRT 2, and it's looking duuurty sweet! Thanks to Guy Pearce's (Codemasters brand director) video interview, we're given a little more insight as to how this franchise installment will roll. The first one is a tough act to follow after all.

It seems too like these guys are really good listeners, cos most of the improvements and tweaks they did to DiRT 2 is taken from comments and feedback of players from the first game. A few of the things he discussed are the following:

• Rally Cross - feedback said there weren't enough in part 1, so with this one, they'll be bringing in even more massive stadiums
• Damage - feedback said that while it's all about damaging the car, sometimes it affected performance of the game. To work around this, they added in a segment where damage will only be visual and cosmetic, but will not affect the handle of your wheel.
• Online mode - the whole game will be online

If you want to see the full video:


Do I smell something massive cooking? Yes, yes, I do. DiRT 2 will be driving off to PS3, Xbox 360, Wii, PSP and DS on September 2009. Here's the vid

guy pearce brand director codemasters

rally-cross - there wasnt enough in part 1, in part 2 more massive stadiums
all about damaging cars
included damage that will only be visual, and not affecting actual performance in the game
online mode - whole game will be online
sept 09

Potential-but-not-really PSP-3000 exploit found in Phantasy Star Portable

Developer wololo (author of Wagic, the Homebrew?!) put up a very interesting guide on how to find savegame exploits in PSP games, a very valuable thing to find while the quest is still on to hack the 3000.

In his guide, he cited an attempt by a fellow going by the handle yyoossk to find an exploit in Phantasy Star Portable using the same method that was used to find the exploit in GripShift.

While the results weren't spectacular, they're still interesting, if only for a point of discussion. The attempt to exploit Phantasy resulted in crashing the PSP (which is a good thing when looking for exploits), except, it didn't yield any usable results.

So was it a fruitless effort? Wololo explains:

Not exactly [useless], it is a bug, so there might be a way to exploit it, but when a jump is not obvious, you’ll spend less time looking for a crash in another game and try again, really. Looking for a jump that might not even exist is not fun and could take hundreds of hours, it’s just not worth it.

[...] When someone comes with a potential exploit, you can be sure some serious guys will give it a try if it’s worth it. If after a few weeks there is no “serious” discussion on the issue (involving code or “proof of concept”files), you should lower your hopes.

Useless exploit? Only time will tell. For now, budding coders will benefit from taking a look at the guide, which offers a very good look into the world of exploit hunting. Read it after the source link.

GDC: iPhone is better than the PSP and the DS, says ngmoco

Mudslinging between Sony and Microsoft seems to be playing second fiddle these days to mudslinging between the PSP and the iPhone.

The war between the two devices continues on during GDC, where ngmoco's co-founder Neil Young says that Apple's brainchild is "better than the DS, better than the PSP." Oh look he took a hit at Nintendo too. Pretty bold for the leader of a relatively new games company. ngmoco was founded in June 2008, releasing its first two games in October, and another four games since then.

Young points out that iPhone sales has already beat sales of the DS and PSP upon their original release. He continues digging it into Sony and Nintendo:

[The iPhone is] always on, always with you [and] most importantly from a business standpoint, there were no first-party games.

Don't let the haters tell you it sucks compared to the DS or the PSP. It doesn't. It's good. It's clear that the quality of iPhone games is eclipsing its [portable] console counterparts, and that's even more acute when you compare it against the prior generation.

He points out that "graphics and sound alone do not a great game experience make," but because of the iPhone's native device functionality which is to be constantly connected, this gives it an edge over its competition. He cites in particular their new game Livefire, which will feature online multiplayer, social features, and online commerce.

He does make a point, the iPhone does have an edge with its connectivity, which is the strength of the appstore. But connectivity just can't beat good hardware and a good game library. The iPhone is just a powerful phone with a few good games. To say that an edge in connectivity makes it the better game machine may be too large a claim.

Young concludes: "We're at the center of the new everything. The iPhone has revolutionized everything."

PSP homebrew - Box2D rev. 205

Here's a little something for the 2D game developers out there in PSP homebrew land. Drakon has posted the newest revision of Box2D, a 2D physics library, on the QJ.NET PSP Development forum.

Drakon says that this version has been optimized for use with PSPs and uses VFPU for math. The download also contains a TestBed source and a compiled demo. I'm no dev, so if you know your way around code feel free to download and try out Box2D in your own projects.

Oh, Drakon also posted a video showing off the compiled demo. Check it out below. If you have any questions about Box2D (or any PSP coding questions for that matter), drop by the QJ.NET PSP Development forums.


Download: Box2d rev. 205

PSP homebrew: iR Shell v5.0 released in its full multi-tasking glory

Finally, it's the big five-oh! AhMan has released that uber cool "advanced multi-tasking" iR Shell he was teasing us with last month! For most of you, it doesn't need any introduction, but for those who want to see a preview of what this baby can do, here (again) is the video from last month:

Now that we're out of the 4.x versions of iR Shell, you can assume that this jump to a 5.x is huge. If what you see in the video isn't enough, then I don't know what is. Now since this is the first release of the 5.x versions, we've taken the liberty to post right here all of AhMan's release notes.

Usage Notes:

1. Before you can use the Advanced Multi-tasking, you'll need to enable the option "Slim Advanced Multi-tasking" under iR Configurator.
2. You can load 2 Applications to the 2 memory slots in the Slim. Slot 1 is the usual memory area for loading applications (the lower 32MB RAM); while slot 2 is the new memory area (the upper 32MB RAM only available on Slim).
3. By default, the 1st app will be loaded in slot 1, and the 2nd app will load in slot 2 automatically. To force the 1st app to load in slot 2, hold Left-Trigger while lauching an application under the confirmation popup window.
4. The typical app switch toggle "L-Trigger + Select" or the alternate key "Vol Up + Select" will allow you to toggle between the 2 apps and iR Shell. New key combos "L-Trigger + Note" or "Vol Up + Note" will allow you to switch between the 2 apps without going back to iR Shell screen. Pls note pressing the Note button alone (without L-Trigger) will act as the screen capture button. The alternate Vol Up combo keys perform exactly the same as L-Trigger key and is provided as an alternative.
5. Normally, when you exit 1 of the 2 apps, it will cause the PSP to reboot, meaning you'll also lose the other running app. This can be resolved by adding unloading support into the application itself. However, this will require modification of the app to perform resource cleanup and self-unloading upon exit. All iR Shell bundled plugins have been enhanced to support unloading, such that they can be terminated without affecting the other running app. To exit these plugins gracefully, use the exit function build into the app itself. For example, to exit bookr, press START and choose Exit menu item. iR Shell disables the standard Home exit menu while 2 apps are running. To exit both apps together, use "Home + Square" instead.

Compatibility Notes:

• Not all apps can be loaded to Slot 2. There're two types of program binary format for PSP, static ELF and relocatable PRX. Static ELF uses fix memory address and can't be relocated. Hence, they will only work when loading in slot 1. If you try to load a static ELF in slot 2, you'll get an error code "0x800200D9". PRX can be loaded in either slot 1 or 2. To convert a homebrew from ELF to PRX, you'll need to re-compile it with BUILD_PRX=1 and set the heap size with PSP_HEAP_SIZE_KB(-800) in the source file. Most static ELF homebrews can be converted to relocatable PRX simply by recompilation.
• There is a limitation on the PSP AVC hardware decoder which is for video playback. It cannot be accessed by more than 1 application; which means you can't have 2 applcations running together if both of them access the AVC hardware decoder.
• The bundled plugins should be able to coexist with most other apps; with the exception of the PPA plugin which can only coexist with another app which doesn't use the AVC hardware decoder.
• You can't have both slots loading UMD/ISOs, due to there is only 1 physical UMD drive and ISOs are simply emulating the UMD.
• PS1 games take exclusive use on the audio hardware. As a result, it will be incompatible with other apps that use audio.
• The launch XMB function may not be stable for most commercial games due to resource conflicts. However, it should be pretty compatible with most homebrews. On the other hand, the Sony Web Browser should work with most commercial games & homebrews. To browse Internet while running another app, you can use the iR Shell bundled htmlviewer which is the Sony Web browser.
• If an app is built with PSP_LARGE_MEMORY flag and you're trying to load it in slot 1 (first app), it will use all Slim memory and you won't be able to load a 2nd app. To allow it to co-exist with other apps, you'll need to load it in slot 2.
• This will probably be incompatible with DA's LEDA if you're trying to run 2 apps requring 2 different kernels.
• This Advanced Multi-tasking feature is incompatible with Interlaced TV Out for slim due to insufficient memory. Progressive TV Out should work fine.
• If you get an error "0x800200D9" while loading an app to slot 2, it's a static ELF and you'll need to load it in slot 1. That is, reverse the order of the 2 applications you're loading.

Additional Note:

• The bundled bookr plugin is based on the original v0.71. If you want to use the recent v0.81 mod by Nguyen Chi Tam, you can download it from www.ishell.org forum.
• You can find most of the plugin source code in www.irshell.org plugin forum. If you want to add unloading support to a homebrew, you can refer to these samples.

Special thanks to:

• Dark_AleX for the M33 custom firmwares and his assistance during iR Shell development.
• Tyranid and other developers in ps2dev.org for creating the pspsdk.
• F34R, Osgeld, StoneCut and other moderators who keep irshell.org running and providing technical support to the community.
• All iR Shell beta testers, donators, skins & plugin contributors.

Credits:

• M33 Custom firmware & popsloader are developed by Dark_AleX/M33.
• remotejoy & usbhostfs are developed by Tyranid.
• iR Shell bundled skins & plugins are developed by their corresponding authors.
• iR Shell Manual & FAQs are written by StoneCut.

Kudos to AhMan for a grrrrrrrrrreat release!
Note: This release is for Slim&Lite ONLY!!!

Download: iRShell v5.0