If you don’t know, I suggest you head on over to ps3-hacks.com right now. Why? Because the PS3 is fully hacked, and by fully hacked I mean unsigned code, which means homebrew and the likes. Just don’t update past 3.41.

A little background…

First it was PS JailBreak — a USB micro-controlled stick loaded with the exploit software — then Sony shut ‘em down with a court granted injunction, before the device made its way into distribution. Then some skilled hackers reverse engineered a sample stick and shared their findings with the world (read: PSGroove & PSFreedom). After that developers realized this could be ported to just about anything with a USB microcontroller: Android phones, Nokia N800/810/900 phones, TI calculators, Dingoos, and an iPhone/iPod port is currently in the works. Wanna know what else is in development? A PSP port. Mind you, that isn’t going so well, so says Mathieulh. But these guys have made some progress: elotrolado.net.

The exploit works like this: PS JailBreak emulates a 6-port USB hub. By attaching and detaching fake devices to these ports PS JailBreak is able to allocate and free blocks of memory that hold the device and configuration descriptors, thus able to trick your PS3 into acting as a development console running unsigned code. You can read the more technical notes on reverse engineering PS JailBreak right here.

The Elotrolado dudes have made progress up to emulating the 6-port USB hub on the PSP (5.50 GEN-D). Much work remains however. In the meantime, the in between time, if you have one (or more) of the aforementioned devices, you can download the port at ps3-hacks.com.

The last time I saw a Chipmunk port was back in ’08 when MK2k — the first Homebrew Idol champ — was holding it down with Stakker. A great example of what Chipmunk Physics can do.

But that was then, and this is now… Chipmunk Physics is at version 5.3.1 and it’s as awesome as ever. Check it out:

This specific port comes from Gefa and implements OSLib MOD by Sakya for graphics and input. It also implements the cpMouse module by Tommy Thorsen. Included is a PSP demo, source and binary, from Gefa as well. Wanna see? Ok:

Download: Chipmunk Physics 5.3.1 for PSP

- source: psp-ita | chipmunk physics project page

One for the semi-hacked and one for the fully-hacked, it’s Liquidzigong with Prometheus-2. This is the CFW version, not the decrypt this, patch that and repack version.

5.03 is for PSP-2000 TA-088v3 and PSP-3000 owners; 5.50 is for the PSP-1000 and non-TA088v3 PSP-2000.

Just make sure you’re on the appropriate GEN version (5.03 GEN-C or 5.50 GEN-D3) and run the respective Prometheus installer. Then it’s all the 6.00+ games on your hacked PSP.

Prometheus-2 Changes:

• Support more new games
• Support future encryption games requiring 6.30

Download: CFW 5.03 Prometheus-2 | CFW 5.50 Prometheus-2

- source: a9vg

Who loves PSN? Yeah, thought so. But let me guess, you love CFW much more, right? Well Vosman just updated PSNLover and that gets you the best of both worlds — access the PlayStation Network Store and game online using your custom firmware enabled PSP.

Not working? Try this:

1. Reboot to the recovery console
2. Go to configuration
3. Set “Fake region” to “Debug Type I”
4. Try accessing PSN again.

PSNLover BETA v1.2 Changes: (Translated)

ACE COMBAT X2 PSN联机退出到processing...画面时，死机问题修复!

ACE COMBAT X2 PSN online exit to the processing ... screen, crash fixes!

Download: PSNLover BETA v1.2

- source: cngba

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