Homebrew developer Grimfate126">Grimfate126 dropped by QJ.Net PSP forums today and released a new version of pet game Space Escape. The first version of this creation was actually an entry to the recent NeoFlash Spring Coding Competition and as such, we could say that a lot of hard work and dedication was put into it.

Anyway, Space Escape is basically a space shooter and the objective is to stay alive as long as possible in an asteroid belt. Don't go looking for enemy spacecrafts because the asteroids themselves are sometimes already too much to handle. The changes to Space Escape Revision A are as follows:

• Fixed some text alignment issues in the menu. (the text wasn't going at a 45 degree angle)
• Added a new backdrop. A particle effect. (look at the pictures to see it)
• Added ability to return to the main menu from gameplay. (couldnt do that before.
• Added a speed limit. Once it gets to a very fast speed, it stops increasing, and all your stats get halved. Meaning, when you get a bullet powerup, the bar only gets half-full. Same with the shield. And the multipliers only last 15 seconds, unless you pick-up another one.
• Added a new "feature". Powerup "cages" are transparent if you have to shield, just as a warning. Also, if you shield is low, they blink. (transparent, then solid)

Aside from Grimfate126, coder InsertWittyName was also involved with this project. The music for the game was added by Abhoth.

Download: Space Escape Revision A
View: QJ PSP Development Forum

It should be remembered that when DAX released 3.30 Open Edition Revision A, homebrew developer Pharonyk provided a fix to his LOLstation - POPS Fix to make it compatible with the new custom firmware. As you all know, there's now 3.40 OE-A. So what do you think Pharonyk just did?

Yep, the QJ.Net Forum resident developer just provided another fix to the application so that 3.40 CFW users can join the fun. Basically, LOLstation - POPS Fix will flash two files to your flash0 to allow you to have a custom boot and play PSX games. This is needed because having a custom "opening_plugin.rco" would interfere with your PSP POPStation.

Now, the 3.40 fix goes directly in the "lolstation" folder to replace the existing file "game_plugin.prx". Once that's done, you shouldn't worry about anything because Pharonyk made sure that all necessary files have been backed up. Just be sure though that you have free space in your flash0 (space in memory stick isn't counted).

Lastly, please read first the accompanying Readme file for further information as well as the forum thread for discussions. You are all aware that there is always a risk of bricking your PlayStation Portable (PSP) whenever you flash any kind of file.

Download: 3.40 Fix to LOLstation - POPS Fix
View: QJ PSP Development Forum

You've probably seen the video, and made use of the information we've given about 3.30 Open Edition Revision A, but how about some friendly advice for the newcomers to our site, right? Well, we have a quick hyperlink guide for you guys to use if you're trying to decide between upgrading your PSP or not, as well as instructions on installing the new versions.

To find out whether or not using one type of customized firmware is right for you, you can check out Adiuvo's discussion of the pros and cons of the different firmwares, which is updated for Dark_Alex's 3.30 OE-A.

If you're thinking of downloading the custom firmware itself, why not let us help? Rica M. has our official coverage of the 3.30 OE-A release, download here.

If you're looking for some helpful tips on installing, as well as a full tutorial on upgrading to 3.30 OE from your specific firmware, you can check out this extensive guide we have for you.

Lastly, now that you've got a working 3.30, let the developers know if you've found any bugs that need fixing. Visit our consolidated Bug Report post and air out your problems.

We here at QJ like the fact that if you phonetically pronounced Dark_AleX's latest custom firmware (OE-A), you end up saying "Oh yeah!" and quite aptly so. Oh yeah, indeed, and just as promised, Dark_AleX is once again coded into the annals of PSP homebrew history. He's now released his latest hack: 3.03 OE-A (Open Edition Revision A).

The major features of this release is that it's built for FW 3.03 (no, duh) and that PSX ISO compression is now supported. You'd also be able to use PSX game manuals with the document.dat utility. Here's the full changelog for 3.03 OE-A:

• Change from firmware 3.02 to 3.03
• Added support for compression in psx isos (look at popstation documentation for more details)
• Added support for decrypted document.dat (psx games manual) (look at docmaker documentation for more details)
• Fixed a bug regarding free region: a stupid bug caused it not to work at all. Now it should work, although it has not been tested due to lack of umd's of different regions between the testers and me
• Some generic bug fixes in the code
• Redded the sdk

As with other Dark_AleX custom firmware releases, 3.03 OE-A is installed in the same way. For the newbies, that leaves you with three options: you can either check our ongoing coverage on Dark_Alex-related releases, or you can simply take a look at the readme file included in the archive.

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UPDATE: nilzxx has just made this video which shows him sucessfully installing 3.03 OE-A on his PSP. So for all the doubters out there, doubt no more. This thing works. Thank you, nilzxx!

Download: [Dark_AleX's 3.03 OE-A]
Discuss: [Forum Release Thread]

Dark_AleX and Mathieulh have formed a formidable partnership which doesn't look like it will slow down anytime soon. And yet again, Dark_AleX has updated his ground-breaking piece of work, the homebrew enabler for FW 2.71. The big feature in this latest version is the ability to launch static ELFs. To those who've just joined us, all the current homebrew is basically compiled as a static ELF. Up to this version, it was not possible to launch them, which meant that any homebrew which had to be run on 2.71 had to be re-compiled keeping a few guidelines in check.

With this new update, you can run almost all your user-mode homebrew. Here's the full changelog:

• User mode static ELF's are now starting to work. Tested with SNES TYL 0.3 (user mode version), PSPMaster and  CPS2PSP 1.0 (user mode version). Kernel mode static ELF's are still not supported, they are a very odd case in 1.XX of kernel code loaded to user memory. Kernel Homebrew for 2.71 has to be written with a user main ELF/PRX that load kernel PRX's. Note that the homebrew must be in a true PBP, not KXploited!.
• User mode PRX's could load other user mode PRX's, but kernel mode PRX's couldn't load user mode PRX's. This is fixed.
• Patched the firmware to allow it to understand the old SFO format(avoiding the error of data is corrupted).
• Added a small win32 binary that will give you a hint about if a homebrew can work or not in the current release. Note that this is only a hint.

Also remember that this version will happily run on the TA-082 PSPs, so everyone can join in the fun! If any of you have already been using an older version of the homebrew enabler, there are some specific instructions which you must follow to upgrade it:

"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."

For those who're gonna be doing this hack for the first time, the instructions are included in the readme. Make sure to check it out before doing this hack. Since it modifies the flash, you have to take care. It has already been tested many times, and it will work properly. If you're still scared, you can even use the homebrew enabler as a Devhook mod. The files are included in the same file.

Finally, it has been known that some sites have been modifying homebrew for their personal glory. We have received word from Mathieulh that editing the files can possibly corrupt the eboot, or in worst cases, brick your PSP when using it. To make sure this doesn't happen, please download this file from either Dark_AleX's site, or from our download site linked below. We have the original file, directly, from Mathieulh's IRC channel and you can be rest-assured that our file is clean and safe. So without further ado, here's the download link below. Enjoy!

Download Link: [Dark_AleX's Homebrew Enabler for FW 2.71 (Revision C)]

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.

 

Download: [Homebrew Enabler for 2.71 (Revision B)]

The full installation notes await after the jump!