Italian developer Gefa's released his latest version of his PSP homebrew game, PopBlocks v1.0.1. As you can see, this is a clone of the flash puzzle game, Pushori. For this version, there are only a couple of changes made to the game.


Download: PopBlocks v1.0.1

If you're fond of using the homebrew application Ultimate Flash Operation, this may be the best time to upgrade it as owner Almost219 just released a new build for the PlayStation Portable flasher program and made it an entry to the Neo Flash Coding Competition.

Currently in version 5.0 a lot of changes have been implemented to Ultimate Flash Operation including increased compatibility with other custom firmwares. Here's the complete changelog as provided by the developer himself:

• COMPLETE support for 3.30/3.40/3.51/3.53 OE-X/LE-X/IE-X/M33-X
• New GUI
• Redone Mix n' Match mode to Flasher Mode
• NEW Theme selector
• Now accessible through recovery mode
• Added security (MD5sum, Sha-1, Enough flash0 space, File size, M33/OE compatibility)
• Progress bar and progress info while dealing with flash
• Completely Noob friendly
• Tested 1000 times so I know for sure this is a finished version
• Improved file browser stability
• LOLstation is for 3.30/3.40 ONLY, I'm working on a new LOLstation with 3.52 compatibility
• Save Flash Space is compatible for ALL compatible firmwares (for 3.52 it uses dummy files)(will also fix Backup/Dump)
• No longer 2 different modes, all 1 mode
• Revised Button Configuration
• MUST be on main menu for USB to work

Ultimate Flasher Operation v5.0 comes with a comprehensive Readme.txt file that will give you all the necessary information. This may brick your PSP if you don't know what your doing so refer to the said documentation first before attempting to install the program.

Download: Ultimate Flash Operation v5.0

Homebrew developer Gambiting entered his fun and simple shooter Shoot4Fun at the Neo Spring Coding Competition 07. A lot of improvements have been added to the version released a couple of weeks ago. The owner also said that this is going to be the last build for his game.

There's no Readme file in the download package but the developer created a section dedicated for instructions so we're pretty sure you guys won't have problems while playing this game. The changes and features as provided by Gambiting:

• #1 Update:
• Addons system WORKS! You can have one of 5 updates, health, shield, Double Speed, Double Power, Triple Power. They make gameplay faster and much more fun and addictive!
• Fourth level of enemies, very difficult.
• Various Eye-candy, like fading screens.
• You can die now.
• You can pause using start button.
• Added instructions option in main menu.
• Modified insane mode - now it's even more insane.
• Added Neo Flash logo
• #2 Update (final)
• High score system works!
• Minor bug fixes

Download: Shoot4Fun (last version)

Music lovers, gather around. PSP homebrew coder Xandu has released his entry for this year's NEO Flash Summer Coding Competition, Xandu's Media Player version 1.2c.

Yes, you read it right. It's out of beta and ready to kick some behind in the homebrew competition. In case you aren't familiar with Xandu's Media Player (or XMP), it's a media player with an interface that looks like an iPod. It supports a number of the formats: .mp3, .wav, IT, MOD, S3M, and OGG. It also boasts of an amplified sound output compared to the regular XMB, music streaming, and playlists where folders can be placed inside other folders.

Version 1.2c was basically polished, sporting only aesthetic (graphical) and minor bug fixes. Anyway, the known issues from the last release haven't been squashed yet, hopefully, Xandu will be able to iron them out in the next release. The said issues include song length and large sized album art issues, and only version 1 of ID3 can be supported.

If this is the first time using Xandu's Media Player, we'd advise you to go over his PDF user manual. Oh, and if you like the app, why not show your appreciation by voting for XMP? Enjoy!

Download: Xandu's Media Player v1.2c

  

PSP homebrew developer Freshmilk  tipped us off to a new game ready for play, titled Dementia v0.1. This homebrew game is a color-puzzle game, where the player's goal is to convert all the red tiles on screen into yellow. Simple, but not easy, because every time you click on a square, you also convert the color of the squares around it into its opposite color.

This game was made by Freshmilk, along with the rest of the newly formed Teh Peek-Uh-Chewz team. Here's a little backgrounder on the rest of the crew (according to Freshmilk):

• Gr34t3st; a well known partner and friend who has been working with me for quite some time now. He covers GFX and some of the designs, and has brought about all the GFX in this game rather quickly.
• Dante_emo Hunter; I've known him as a friend for quite a long while now, I'd say around about a year. This is our first project together, but again his GFX look promising from what I've seen of them. Although he hasn't put much into this release, what he did contribute was pretty damn good; we'll hope to see more work from him in future.
• TheSilenceofNoOne; A good friend and a confident worker. If I were honest, he has no specific role in the team, although what he does helps to make the produce brilliant; His main jobs include providing music for the games, beta testing and finding glitches, and helping us with the more time consuming tasks. He has put a lot into Dementia, as we hope he will for other projects.

On a last note, this game is also an entry to the Neo Flash Summer Coding competition 2007. We wish Freshmilk and the team good luck in their endeavor, while we hope the guys here enjoy the game. More info can be found at the author's release thread at our QJ.Net Forums.

Download: Dementia v0.1
Visit: QJ's PSP Development Forum

Remember YodaJr's entry to Neo Flash's Summer Coding Contest? Well, he's recently released an update for Legend of Zelda: Stroke of Link. YodaJr's Zelda version of the PC game Ruta Stroke gets (from what the online translation engine tells me) an added number of tests per level. He also warns that, old saves might not be fully compatible with this update. Sigh. okay, just so our necks will stay safe if we lose/miss any details, here's what we got from the translation of the release thread:

History
22/10/2006 : Addition selector level once finished play and statistics of the number of tests for each level.
02/09/2006 : Correction of the bug of the stick.
23/08/2006 : Correction of a bug which returned levels 61 and 63 impossible to finish.
20/08/2006 : Final Release and participation in Neo Compo 2006.

How to play
Pad or Stick: To direct Link. Triangle: To put in pause the music in the level. Start: Finely play: To start again the level, to return to the screen titrates or to leave the play.

Got all that? Anyway, a quick play through of this second place winner, will make anyone realize that this "simple" game is deceptively addictive. If you're worried that you won't understand this puzzle game, don't fear, an option screen at the start asks you if you want the game instructions in french or English. If you end up stuck in a level with no more clouds to step on, the restart level option is there to help you play over, and over and over again.

We haven't confirmed the levels 61 and 63 bug fix yet, as we haven't gotten that far forward yet. I do plan to get that far though, right after I send this article to the editors for checking. Nice update YodaJr! Good work.

  

Download [Legend of Zelda: The Stroke of Link]

Pointbat has updated his NeoFlash game, Luminex v1.0 to version 1.1. This time around, you guys can (finally!) play the Lumines clone with sound and tinker around with the theme engine. Playing the game requires libpng, zlib, libmad. Be advised that some files are found in the Lua player and PSP media player source code.

Here's a log of changes since version 1.0:

• many bugs corrected
• sound
• theme engine

Now for those of you who haven't played the v1.0 or Lumines itself, the controls are pretty much the same:

• left: move to the left
• right: move to the right
• down: fall
• square: rotate left
• X: rotate right
• select: screenshot
• start: pause menu

If this version update is any indication of the how the game is going, fans surely have something definitely worth waiting for in future updates of the game.

Download: [Luminex v11]
Download: [Luminex v11 source code]

You don't know it yet, but you have a GPS device in your possession right now - your PSP. Deniska's entry to the Neo Flash Summer Coding Contest for PSP Applications called Map This! turns your PSP into a map viewer in a snap. So why buy those GPS systems that would cost you an arm and a limb when you can just download this application and follow the very simple instructions?

This is not the first time that we've featured Map This! on QJ, matter of fact, it was still a very buggy version when we covered it. However this new release has tons of features we're sure you will enjoy. But, word of advice, this software is distributed under GPL license and provided for education purposes only. It is not fully tested and therefore should be used with caution. Deniska or QJ will not be responsible for any damages and/or legal problems which may arise from using this application & underlying hardware setup. This software acquires image data from Google Maps online service. Please read and understand Google Maps' "Terms of Use" agreement before using this application.

Now let's get down to business.

Main Features:

• Scroll through large (up to 65536x65536 pixels) maps.
• Zoom in/out. The number of zoom levels depends of on the size of the map.
• Large coverage. The program uses imagery from Google Maps, which currently have pretty good coverage of North America, Western Europe, Australia, Japan. Visit Google maps, to find out if they provide required coverage for your location.
• Customizable map size, level of detail and coverage.
• Ability to display zipped maps (currently buggy)
• Ability to display satellite and hybrid maps from Google.
• WIFI map retrieval: ability to acquire and store map data to memory stick over WIFI
• Linux/Cygwin script is also provided to generate a map of given size and detail for a given location.
• GPS support: ability to read and interpret NMEA sentences from a GPS receiver communicating through PSP's serial port.

GPS Mode features:

• Speed, direction, altitude, latitude, longitude, number of satellites in view.
• NORTH UP mode: map is displayed with NORTH always on top. The arrow in the middle turns to shows current direction.
• TRACK UP mode: map rotates so that direction of movement is always from top down.
• Record GPS data (captures NMEA sentences in gps.txt file for later replay)
• POI/Attractions data support. Ability to select and display different types of attractions.
• PSPSDK compatible source code provided.

Download: [Map This!]