If you thought that the set of emulators featured in last week's Weekend Warrior was a sight to behold, wait until you get a load of this week's harvest of homebrew emulators for the PlayStation Portable. This week's PSP Homebrew Weekend Warrior has emulators by the dozen (well, a quarter of a dozen actually), as well as the start of QJ.NET's PSP Updates Summer Homebrew Contest.

Of course, we also have highlights for some of the more interesting homebrew applications, plugins, and games that were released during the past week. In particular, we have something for the bookworm in us, and even a special tribute for those who enjoy dungeon-crawling RPGs.

But enough teasers already. Read on if you want to see what we've compiled for you in the latest issue of the Weekend Warrior special.

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QJ.NET's summer blowout

Here's a treat for the entire PSP homebrew community: QJ.NET is proud to present the PSP Updates Summer Homebrew Contest. The contest is open to all homebrew developers and will run from July 29 to September 12. Those of you interested in joining can check out the rules we've posted on the QJ.NET front page and its related thread on the QJ.NET forums.

Link: QJ.NET kicks off the PSP Updates Summer Homebrew Contest

 

It's been a while, but it seems like homebrew developer Zx-81 finally got around to update the homebrew text editor, PSPWrite. The new build (version 1.1.0) finally introduces word wrapping as one of its new features. In addition, the app show support for CFW 4.xx-M33.

Link: PSPWrite v1.1.0 - added word wrap mode

As useful homebrew plugins go, you have to hand it to coder Raphael for coming up with something to allow PSP owners to calibrate their potentially wonky analog nubs. A new build for JoySens was recently released, this time fixing a couple of incompatibilities with Sony's UMD driver. In addition, a mini-update was also released which addresses another bug with the plugin's file settings every time users attempted to save their configuration settings in-game or on the VSH menu.

Link: JoySens 1.42: UMD driver compatibility fix *Update*

If you want to show off your artistic flair using a handheld, you can do so using Gefa's PaintMIXER homebrew app. Version 2.4.0 automatically sets the CPU clock at 333 MHz, allowing the program to run a lot faster than previous versions at the cost of a little extra battery power. Also, you can now specify the image's save name and the path you want to save it to.

Link: PaintMIXER 2.4.0: CPU setting autoclocks to 333 MHz

  

Homebrew emulators were literally a dime a dozen, as several developers released the latest builds of their respective projects this past week. Ringing up the tally are emulators for the Sinclair ZX Spectrum, Mac, DOS, Atari, and Dreamcast.

Most of these emulators can be used to relive some of the classic games which were designed for their respective systems. You're free to download and test each of them out. Don't expect us to provide you with any old-school games, though - you'll have to search for those yourself. On a special note, check out the crazy discussion generated from the planned nullDC Dreamcast Emulator.

Link: Fuse PSP 0.9.0.25: Sound rendering engine bug fix
Link: Basilisk II PSP Port test release 22 - better IR keyboard support
Link: DosBox PSP version 07/26/08 - minor performance improvements
Link: PSP2600: Atari 2600 emulator for PSP v1.1.4 (minor update)
Link: Videos: nullDC Dreamcast Emulator for PSP

Homebrew games focused mainly on the RPG genre this week, with updates for both Uncharted Lands and Powder taking the forefront. Both games share the same top-down orientation that many of the more classic RPG games had. Their respective developers are still continuously updating each game, so expect more improvements in the future. If you have a penchant for old-school RPGs, then you shouldn't hesitate in trying both these handheld titles.

Link: Powder release 107 for DS, PSP - new tilesets added
Link: Uncharted Lands v0.02 - an original homebrew RPG for PSP

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The good ol' days of gaming

Emulators are always a good way to wind back the clock and enjoy some of the classic games we had fun with when we were younger (this writer included). Despite the relatively low specs the PSP carries, it's still nice to see the effort some of the devs in the community put into making these homebrew projects.

While it's highly unlikely to see anything like a Gamecube emulator on the handheld anytime soon, all the development being put into making these emulators might actually spawn an entirely new platform someday. Wishful thinking, I know, but it never hurts to dream.

Who knows? One of these breakthroughs might actually come from one of the entries in our PSP Updates Summer Homebrew Contest. Until then, keep your eyes trained for more PSP Homebrew news here on QJ.NET. Be sure to check out next week's edition of the PSP Homebrew Weekend Warrior for more updates on the PSP homebrew scene.