Remember this? Well Xenogears just updated that — MHU Free Store — and this time ’round its got content. Download homebrew & plugins direct over WiFi. The only thing: it crashes whenever I try to download something… Watch:

Man, that would be cool if it didn’t crash… Anyone else experiencing this issue? — v1.11?

MHU Free Store v1.10 Changes:

• Fixed a bug that prevented adding content to the system.
• Fixed an error displaying the free space on your memory stick.
• Fixed a text that caused confusion when upgrading.
• Improved the internal interface.
• Improved system of languages. In the future it will be possible to add languages without upgrading.
• Added new effects to the interface.
• Added test case to log in to suspend the console.
• Removed the local installation folder.
• USB mode.

Download: MHU Free Store v1.10

- source: mhu2d

Major improvements come bundled with Half Byte Loader (HBL) revision 99. For starters, remember JJS’ sys-call estimation trick in R96? It improved speed & overall performance for select PSP models and firmware versions. Well that function is now working on all PSP models running 6.20.

To quote Wololo:

Although there are still a few differences in the quality of syscall estimations for these models (1000/2000/3000) on this specific firmware (6.20), this major function is now working on all models, and you should all be able to enjoy full speed on your favorite emulators.

HBL R99 also fixes [most] issues with the “Home” button and other control issues introduced in R97; shout-out to Nymphaea for that patch. Said patch also allows HBL to be ran from a memory stick on the PSPgo; I guess prior to R99 you were forced to use the PSPgo’s internal storage. I didn’t know that.

Download:
Half Byte Loader R99
Patapon 2 Demo
Patapon 2 SAVEDATA Exploit

- source: wololo

Hello boys and ghouls… It’s the Horror Show Crypt Keeper with a wig-splitting update concerning Homebrew Idol 3, which was originally set to end this Tuesday; however, the devs have spoken and are in favour of an extension.

You want it, you got it — the new HBI3 Horror Show deadline is September 14th at 11:59 PM EDT. You have till that date to polish off and get your final entries in.

Now I was just browsing through our forums, sifting over the current entries, and man – I gotta tell you – some of these homebrew games look awesome. I mean really, really awesome. This is probably Dashhacks’ best Homebrew Idol yet; but what Idol show doesn’t say that each season? Anyway, here is an updated list of all current HBI3 entries:

1. Skullgrog by gorglucks
2. Drowned by hardhat
3. Republic of Zombies by Oby1Chick
4. The Scent by incpdo
5. Undead Terror by leooomichel
6. LostSoul by [Kenny]
7. Lauren’s Fate by m0olatte
8. WTF! Zombies!!! by fllipperr
9. The Maze by wassgha
10. Spooky Maze by vandurol123
11. Zombie Search by Moxo
12. Damaged by Stinkee2 (and co.)
13. Silent Homebrew by TheRuler
14. Homunculus by soulless
15. 3.4.Lettres by highronn
16. Stay Alive by Dark_Star
17. Dark Super Mario Bros by psp_kevin17
18. Delta Force by dan369
19. Fight 4 Life by Pihas
20. Run!!! by spike_132000
21. Last Life by Dariusc

- Homebrew Idol 3 Discussion Thread -

As I write this Hot Shots Golf: Open Tee is still available on PSN. 6.30/6.31 users: have you got your copy yet? If you want homebrew then I suggest you do, because the whole crew — Wololo, J416, FrEdDy, and Mamosuke — have been hard at work. SDKs are now available and you can bet HBL ports will soon follow.

Software Development Kits (SDKs) won’t serve the average homebrewer any real purpose. They’re more for developers. But hey, if you care to broaden your horizons, then get the SDK below.

The directory/file structure is laid out different in HBL R95 v1.01 for OFW 6.3X. That’ll hopefully clear things up when it comes to installing J416′s HBL port. Just copy everything under “ms0″ to your PSP; that includes the HBL files and hacked save game. The “eLoader” and “SDK” directories are source code.

Download:
HBL R95 v1.01 for Minna no Golf Portable (JP) (by J416)
Everybody’s Golf (EU) Hello World + SDK (by FrEdDy)
Hot Shots Golf: Open Tee (US) Hello World + SDK (by Wololo)

- source: J416 | Wololo

It’s the coolest, and correct me if I’m wrong, it’s the only [homebrew] helicopter shooter for your PSP: Codetactics’ Mobile Assault. Is it compatible with HBL? No sorry, it’s not. Perhaps that’s another day.

That video is a little dated; things look nicer now, a la these screenshots (better radar, notifications, etc):

 

Remember to backup and restore mobileassault.db when updating your PSP. That’ll keep your player settings and everything else intact.

Mobile Assault is also available for the iPhone — check the App Store.

v1.3 changes, download… (more…)

A second chance for those who’ve upgraded to the latest official firmware; J416 releases his Half Byte Loader port for firmware 6.30 and 6.31.

The game? Who guessed (before Aug 24) “Minna no golf” or “Hot Shots Golf?” And the winner is: kaitoudark1! Only one person, wow… Congratulations. If you’re reading this, please email admin @ dashhacks with a dot com and confirm the email address used when leaving the comment.

Now back to HBL — here is the current hack status summary for the variations of said game:

• Minna no golf portable (JP UMD): Exploitable, runs HBL (J416’s port)
• Minna no golf portable 2 (JP UMD): Exploitable, Hello World by Mamosuke
• Hot Shots Golf: Open Tee (US UMD): Exploitable, Hello World by wololo
• Hot Shots Golf: Open Tee 2 (US UMD): probably exploitable
• Everybody’s golf (EU UMD): probably exploitable
• Eveybody’s golf 2 (EU UMD): probably exploitable
• PSN Versions of all the above: probably exploitable, untested.

You know Sony’s going to act fast. So stay tuned as we’ll keep you updated on the untested, but probably exploitable, games. And whatever you do: DO NOT UPGRADE YOUR PSP FIRMWARE; not if you want to stay fully homebrewed and hacked.

Update: As of writing this Hot Shots Golf: Open Tee is available on PSN for $9.99; I just took the hit for you — I downloaded it, transferred it to my PSPgo (running 6.20) and tried Wololo’s “Hello World” proof-of-concept, which is a good indication of whether or not HBL can be adapted to this particular title and save data hack.

The result: my PSPgo crashes. All systems go.

Now that doesn’t necessarily mean Sony has patched it; it just means this crafted save game doesn’t work, as-is, with the PSN version (or the PSPgo at 6.20). That said — it’s up to you whether or not you buy it off PSN. We’ll keep you posted as things develop.

Update: Scratch all that in my previous update… Wololo just sent word — the Hello World POC was missing a file — the PSN (US) version of Hot Shots Golf: Open Tee is indeed exploitable. I reckon you grab it, like now.

Download: HBL for 6.3X (includes SAVEDATA, sources, etc)

- source: j416′s blog | wololo

PCSP — the PSP emulator written in C++ — just got updated to version 0.3.0. And wow, talk about an update. Emulating the PSP has never looked so smooth with these graphic engine (GE) improvements. Not only that — Silverfall, the first level is now playable — other titles now render textures better and often times you can get into the first stage of gameplay. Then again, many games crash and aren’t playable at all.

UDB v3 is the front-end; the fancy UI that lets you select, preview and load games, etc. It was recently updated too.

PCSP v0.3.0 Changes:

• Plenty fixes on GE engine including new shader render
• Joystick support
• Analog pad support
• Lot of fixes to HLE
• and of course some more games appear to be playable

For the full change log, because she’s a big one, can be viewed at the source link. Props PCSP Team, real nice work.

Download: PCSP v0.3.0 w/ udb v3

- source: pcsp-emu

Sure to be a homebrew hit is SeanPaul223′s Lua-coded Age of Nations. Currently in the release candidate stage, Age of Nations packs a very familiar look and feel — Age of Empires anyone? Uh huh, that’s what it’s based on; only AON is homebrewed, not Microsofted.

Age of Nations RC1 consists of a single player tutorial campaign, as demoed in the above video, after that, feel free to roam around and discover other game features.

Features:

• Map Scrolling & Minimap
• Units creation, Pathfinding for single unit and grouped units moves
• Build/Repair tasks
• Collecting resources
• and many others features

Download: Age of Nations RC1

- release / discussion thread – neoflash entry -

Put your PSPs together, or at least within range of one another, for qwikrazor87′s ad-hoc messenger… It’s PSP Adhoc IM and the name says it all: send instant messages from one PSP to another over ad-hoc.

PSP Adhoc IM v5:

• removed the OSK and uses a Danzeff style keyboard made from scratch
• the option to change the background color for words separately from the main color
• cleaned up the coding

Download: PSP Adhoc IM v5

- release thread -

Back in the day when shells were cool, this was the coolest one to be running, and in fact, it’s still the coolest, all the other wannabe shells are played out. From AhMan to F34R comes iR Shell v5.2, which adds support for custom firmware 5.50 GEN-D3. There is no need to update if you’re on 5.00 M33-6 running iR Shell v5.0 already.

iR Shell pretty much does everything the XMB does, plus way more, and with a totally different UI. You’ll probably want to auto boot iR Shell when your PSP starts — it’s that awesome. How awesome? Well here is one example of iR Shell’s added functionality:

Advanced Multi-tasking!

iR Shell v5.2 Install:

• This is the full installation package. You’ll need to delete your existing /IRSHELL folder, if you have one, and copy this one over.
• Make sure to run ms0:/IRSHELL/PATCH/5.00/btcnfpatch.prx, from iR Shell’s Directory View, after installation.

Download:
iR Shell v5.2 for CFW 5.50 GEN-D3
iR Shell v5.0 for CFW 5.00 M33-6

- source: irshell