Hells yeah! Chalk up another first-class PSP mod for the crew that does it best, Acidmods!

Elite modder JR has successfully modded this particular PSP to illuminate a LED when buttons are pressed — those buttons being: triangle, square, circle, or cross. Surprisingly, this mod isn’t overly difficult to accomplish; planned is a tutorial illustrating the installation procedure. We’ll let ya know when that’s available. Till then, watch the video which demonstrates the mod in action.

There is one current issue to be addressed concerning MCD colour ratings, outlined in this quote:

We ran into a small issue after we glued them in, involving different MCD ratings of the different colors. Rather than tear things apart we will just issue this warning to people wanting to do this mod if you use different colors that are rated differently some may stay on dimly then light up when pressed. We will correct this problem in the future videos and list the proper values to use in the tutorial when it’s completed.

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StrmnNrmn shares some details as he prepares for the next iteration of his Nintendo 64 emulator. After refactoring how Daedalus handles textures, R11 shows a 5-10% speed enhancement — quite impressive!

But, the most noteworthy fact, 8MB can now be permanently allocated for the Expansion Pak! And if you’re [in the EDT timezone] reading this now: 1) you’re up too late, and 2) Daedalus R11 will also include the added benefit of remembering individual rom preferences!

A few finishing touches remain and StrmnNrmn should have R11 out the door this upcoming weekend.

The most significant change I’ve made is to fix a memory leak in the texture cache. I mentioned last week that I’d discovered that the texture cache was the biggest culprit for soaking up memory. It turned out that despite my fixes and support for 4-bit and 8-bit palettised textures, I was still running out of memory in certain situations. I did a bit more investigating, and discovered a resource leak that had been in the texture cache since it was first written (probably 7 or 8 years ago now!)

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In the meantime, check out Daedalus R10.

As you may, or may not know, PSP Hacks is holding a homebrew competition for [up & coming] developers.

It was scheduled to end today; however, since numerous requests were made to extend the contest, we’re going to do just that — the new closing date is May 13th, 2007. Act fast! Chug some jolt and get your homebrew creation in before the deadline date for a chance to win!

Lets go over a quick summary of current entries: (click the homebrew name for details)

Npaint 1.0
Developer: NIGathan
Type: Paint application

RosettaShard
Developer: foebea
Type: PSP Interpreter for The Rosetta Stone and custom flashcards as well

Sleep’n'Wake PSP 1.2
Developer: MK2k
Type: Time triggered MP3 app with some extra features

Simon
Developer: J@ricanese
Type: A simple memory style game.

LeeSP
Developer: Silverfox
Type: 2-D, 2-player fighting game.

AUTOMOTIVE CONVERSIONS
Developer: JASON STEPHENSON (jay543_uk)
Type: App to carry out simple automotive conversions.

Setgool 1.5
Developer: PIRATA NERVO
Type: 2-D platformer style game

Looking good guys, and girls! Good luck!

Submitted for the approval of the PSP Hacks Homebrew Competition is Automotive Conversions. Developed by jay543_uk, this program will carry out simple automotive calculations. Convert KPH to MPH, miles to the gallon, oil mixture ratios, and more…

As noted by the author:

This is my first ever complete working code, started learning about coding about two mouths ago on the net and then came across psp-programming.com. It is a little app which will work out some simple automotive conversions. Sorry if the code is all messed up, I am very new to all this and really just want some pointers on if I am doing stuff right or if I should just give up.

So you know what to do — download, give it a try, and provide your feedback below.

Download: Automotive Conversions

- Release Thread -

First and foremost, my apologies for the lack of updates over the weekend; was out and about, enjoying the beautiful weather. But, I’m back, and so is Cpasjuste, whom might I add is the author of many great homebrews. Today, well yesterday actually, Cpasjuste released a new SDL port for the PSP! TecnoballZ is the name, and it actually dates back to the good ol Amiga days — a definite classic.

As described by the author:

A exciting Brick Breaker with 50 levels of game and 11 special levels, distributed on the 2 modes of game to give the player a sophisticated system of attack weapons with an enormous power of fire that can be build by gaining bonuses. Numerous decors, musics and sounds complete this great game. This game was ported from the Commodore Amiga.

Download: TecnoballZ PSP Port

- source: mydedibox.fr

PIRATA NERVO has quickly improved on the homebrew game, Setgool. Version 1.50 is now up for grabs; it includes two additional levels, sound when shooting *bang* *bang*, and the jump volume has been moderately increased.

Run, shoot, jump, kill — do everything deemed necessary to keep Setgool alive and well.

So, to reiterate, the 1.50 changes are:

• sound when shooting
• increased volume of jump sound
• added more two levels

By the way, the PSP Hacks 2007 Homebrew Competition has been extended to May 13th. That leaves approximately two more weeks to submit your homebrew creation(s)! More to come on that…

Download: Setgool v1.50

- Setgool Release Thread -

XMB Customization King, a.k.a the great ZiNgA BuRgA, has released RCO Editor v1.14b. RCO Editor is responsible for manipulating the PSP XMB interface. Using various .rco files found in flash memory, you’ll be able to replace icons, sounds (stereo and mono), text, and specific page data. Ideally you should use decrypted .rco files from FW 2.50 or 2.60; in fact, they _must_ be decrypted before you can actually alter them.

RCO Editor v1.14b changes:

• Fixed minimize crash
• Minor changes/bug fixes
• Should now be fully compatible with the new decompressed 3.40 RCOs (note that the newer style GIMs support heights which aren’t a multiple of 8, however, RCO Editor will require replaced images to have a height which is a multiple of 8 to preserve compatibility with older versions)

Download: RCO Editor v1.14b

- source: ZiNgA BuRgA’s site

Released yesterday, and bound to elicit a crude response from the haters; becus25 puts all controversy aside with the release of Increasing Edition Revision C, or IE-C for short. IE-C is an alternate custom firmware for PSP enthusiasts who wish to try something new. There’s no harm in that, now is there?

IE-C changes include:

• Total Compatibility with two recoverys. If flock one, loads the other.
• If flock of flash0 the file vshmain_real.prx you will be able to be acceded igniting the PSP and pressing SELECT to a special menu that will allow you to connect the PSP by usb, to write in flash0 vshmain.prx official of firmware 1,50 and to write in flash0 recovery.elf to recover the PSP of possible brick.

Yeah, yeah… I know — it’s a little rough around the English edges. But you get the general idea. Props becus25, for keeping it real. Nice work.

As I’ve stated before, and I’ll say it again, only attempt flashing 1.62 IE-C from firmware 1.50. If you’re using a SE/OE custom firmware, downgrade first (to 1.50 via Recovery), then upgrade.

USE AT YOUR OWN RISK!

Download: 1.62 IE-C

- source: becus25 @ blogspot

Leif Erikson has shared version 0.2 of the PSP-Hacks Mac OS X RSS Widget. Presented in v .2 is a brand spankin’ new look and feel, as depicted in this lovely screen shot:

Now, at your utmost convenience, stay up-to-date with the only PSP news that matters, all via the Mac OS X Dashboard. In the words of Penélope Cruz, “astronomical!”

Great work, Leif.

Download: PSP-Hacks RSS Mac OS X Dashboard Widget v .2

Earlier this week I challenged someone to a Fight Night Round 3 bout. I’ve randomly selected a contestant from a pool of valid submissions. Valid meaning those who answered the skill testing question correctly, and I *slightly* favoured the PS3 / Xbox 360 players; by the way, the answer was “Evander Holyfield.” Though, I would accept Iron Mike Tyson, but he’s missing from the entire series. Truly a shame.

Nevertheless, Brad P — you’re going down. I’ve contacted you to make arrangements. If Brad proves himself worthy, he will win this Camy Pro Gear PSP Faceplate:

(click to enlarge)

My prediction: two hit fight; me hitting Brad, Brad hitting the floor. If that be the case, I’ll select another contestant. ;)