Older News  

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Older News  
31 Jan 2006 : Homebrew for all firmwares!  

eLoader GTA Beta   Here it is, as posted already at PSPUpdates, a version of the GTA eLoader beta that now supports v2.6 firmware. This means that you can now run homebrew on every version of the PSP, except for v1.51 and v1.52 firmware (and there's no good reason to stay with those versions).

Remember, as before, that this is still beta quality, so it doesn't run reliably every time and doesn't run as many homebrew applications as the TIFF-based EBOOT Loader, but it still runs a lot of things. You can see the full list of test results so far here.

Hopefully we'll be able to locate the cause of some of the current bugs very soon, but in the meantime, you can download this beta here. You'll need WinRAR to open the package, and you can view the readme file (including installation instructions) here.

And no, we're not interested in making an ISO loader or a downgrader, so please don't ask. Homebrew is the goal, and homebrew is not the same as piracy.
29 Jan 2006 : v2.60 Syscalls Found  

eLoader for v2.6   Thanks to a brainwave from Ditlew, we've had a breakthrough finding the v2.6 firmware syscalls, and we think we have about 90% of them figured out.

So this means, basically, that a version of the eLoader that works on v2.6 is really not very far away now. Woohoo!

28 Jan 2006 : eLoader for GTA beta  

eLoader GTA Beta   Here it is! Ditlew and I are proud to present the beta release of the eLoader for GTA. With this package, you can now load standard homebrew on v2.0, v2.01 and v2.5 PSPs, using the GTA savegame exploit. It does not yet run on v2.6.

This is still beta quality, so it doesn't run reliably every time and doesn't run as many homebrew applications as the TIFF-based EBOOT Loader, but it still runs a lot of things. You can see the full list of test results so far here.

Hopefully we'll be able to locate the source of some of the current bugs very soon, but in the meantime, you can download this beta here.

24 Jan 2006 : Anyone for SNES emulation on GTA?  

SNES for GTA   We finally made a more solid breakthrough with the EBOOT loader for GTA tonight. Not only does the menu now work properly, but I've also managed to run the uo_SNES9x emulator, and play the Pilotwings ROM (the only one I have), on both v2.0 and v2.5.

At the moment everything is hanging together with a pretty nasty hack. Ideally I'd like to get that fixed up before release, but it's more likely that we'll decide to release things as they currently are, and iron out that issue later.

Please note that lots of basic homebrew is still not working, but I thought that getting SNES emulation running was a big enough milestone to celebrate! Also, if we do decide to release, it will take a few days to knock the code into a releasable format.

22 Jan 2006 : Status update on EBOOT Loader for GTA  

Ditlew and I made some breakthroughs today with the EBOOT loader for GTA, and I'm so excited I thought I'd share the news, since we've been hammering away at this problem for weeks now, and it feels like we're starting to get somewhere.

Last night we finally managed to remove what is believed to be the last traces of GTA from the PSP's memory, and we appear to have full user-mode control over all the available memory and resources (with the exception, of course, of flash memory).

So far this hasn't translated into everything magically-working, including the loader menu, but we have run the first homebrew game using the EBOOT loader - "PSP Rick Dangerous".

So, there's still a lot of work to do, but it's coming along nicely.

This also seems like an opportune moment to properly introduce Ditlew, although we've been working together since the start of the EBOOT Loader for GTA project. He's a 30-year-old Dane working as a lead programmer, with a past in the gaming scene and a strong passion for AI - not to mention a sharp mind and a lot of determination.

21 Jan 2006 : Homebrew for German Censored GTA  

Tetris for German GTA   At last, with the help of Edison Carter, I've been able to get GTA homebrew running on the censored German version of the game. As far as I know, there is now no version of GTA that can't run homebrew. Yay!

I updated my multi-save-slot homebrew pack (below) to include the German savegames - you can download the full pack here. Follow the instructions in the README.TXT file inside the package, for full installation details.

19 Jan 2006 : Install multiple GTA homebrew at once  

Tetris for GTA   In response to popular demand, I helped the chaps over at PSP3D to put together a homebrew package for the GTA exploit that lets you place the GTA homebrew of your choice into any of 5 homebrew-loader game slots. This means that you can easily pick from your 5 favourite GTA homebrews. Although you can't change the names of the save slots, you can place your own icons in there if you replace the ICON0.PNG file in each slot, so it's easy to tell them apart.

You can download it here.

15 Jan 2006 : Appeal for dead PSPs  

PSP hardware   This isn't actually something that I'm working on myself, it's more of an appeal for a friend. Canti is working on investigating the PSP hardware for possible future exploits, but is stuck because he doesn't have enough spare PSP hardware to experiment with.

I know how generous and resourceful the readers of this site are, so - if anyone has any spare PSP motherboards (ideally from bricked PSPs with no warranty, since there's not much else you can do with them), please get in touch with Canti and help advance our knowledge of the PSP's hardware.

If you're able to help, you can reach Canti by email, AIM ('pyrophlake') or IRC (irc.toc2rta.com, #pspchat).

14 Jan 2006 : Devkit for GTA homebrew released  

Devkit for GTA   Following on from Tetris for GTA, I've put together a small package of source and useful tools for developing homebrew to run with the GTA loader. This package will allow you to replace tetris.bin with your own binary, and makes it easy to deal with some of the issues in the GTA environment.

I'm hoping that developers (especially v2.6 owners) will use this package to develop simple homebrew to keep v2.6 users entertained while they wait for their firmware to be fully exploited. If you write anything cool with this, please let me know.

This package is intended for experienced developers only. It will make a lot more sense if you have prior experience of coding for the PSP. I don't have the time to provide support for newbie questions about C compilation, etc., but if you have problems with technical details of the package itself, let me know.

12 Jan 2006 : Tetris for v2.6 released  

Tetris for GTA   Here it is at last, the moment that v2.6 users have been waiting for - the first homebrew game for the v2.6 firmware.

You can read about it and download it here - including some tips for troubleshooting any problems you might have running it.

Note that this version has some very minor tweaks from yesterday's initial release, mostly aimed at fixing problems running with EU copies of GTA, on v2.6. It works flawlessly on my newly-upgraded v2.6 PSP, let me know if you have any problems.

I plan to release a 'DIY v2.6 homebrew' package at some point in the near future, which will include the GTA Tetris source, and allow people to port their own simple games to v2.01-v2.6, while waiting for the EBOOT loader to be finished.

10 Jan 2006 : Tetris for v2.5 released  

Tetris for GTA   There are still a few issues with the v2.6 GTA loader, so for now I decided to release the Tetris for v2.5 users, so that they can have some fun. You can read about it and download it here - including some tips for troubleshooting any problems you might have running it.

Remember that you will need WinRAR or a similar utility to open the RAR-format package.

9 Jan 2006 : First homebrew game for v2.5!  

Tetris for GTA   Just a small thing, really, but I've ported my Tetris game to the GTA exploit, and have it running on a v2.50 PSP. There's a small technical glitch that means it doesn't run yet on v2.60, I hope to sort that out ASAP, before I release a version that will run on any firmware that can run GTA. So - no release yet, but it's imminent.

As well as being the first homebrew game for v2.5 and v2.6, it will also be a good test of the improved GTA loader that will be used to launch the EBOOT loader. Sadly at the moment this is still for US and EU versions of GTA only, my attempts so far with the German version haven't worked correctly, but I hope to change that soon.

8 Jan 2006 : Interview with PSP:UK magazine  

I did an interview with PSP:UK magazine, an interesting PSP-formatted magazine by MikDaSpik. You can download it here, if you want to read it.

5 Jan 2006 : New file hosting  

Hosting by Neverhost.net   Big thanks to Josh at Neverhost.net for donating hosting for the various files published on this site. Josh's kind help means that I can maintain the full archive of EBOOT Loader releases and other files, without having to worry at the end of each month about whether the bandwidth allowance is going to run out.

28 Dec 2005 : New logo!  

Thanks to my friend WunSick for the slick new logo, and help tweaking the final image and theme changes for the site. This is just a small example of this guy's talents - he's been working in web design and code for about 11 years, and has put together some awesome sites. If you need a full web design or just something simple for your own site, give him a holler - I can guarantee that you won't be disappointed.

26 Dec 2005 : Site revamp  

Following the release of the v0.9 EBOOT loader, I've been taking the opportunity to revamp this website a little, focussing more on PSP and less on SWG. All the old SWG content is still available, and is still being updated.

I hope you like the new content, there's more to come.

26 Dec 2005 : Affiliation with Lik-Sang  

As part of my quest to find ways to help homebrew users support the EBOOT loader, at no cost to themselves, I'm pleased to announce a site affiliation with Lik-Sang, the premier importer of all things PSP.
Top-notch Sony PSP accessories and games

If you were thinking of purchasing a PSP console, game or accessory, please consider ordering it from Lik-Sang via this link. It doesn't cost you anything extra, but I receive a small percentage of the purchase price.
Similarly, you can shop with Amazon via the affiliate links in the bar on the left.

24 Dec 2005 : EBOOT Loader v0.9 release  

I'm proud to announce the v0.9 release of the EBOOT loader. I wasn't able to squeeze in support for 2.01 and 2.5 firmwares yet, but hopefully this release has enough new features to keep you entertained while I work on those.

Major new features in this release:
  • Added wifi support! Now the loader auto-detects if the wifi libraries are loaded (via an optional new loading method) and offers them to homebrew for use.
  • Added call to application exit callback, to allow RIN etc. to save state when L+R+START reset is used.
  • I've hacked in display of program icons into Calum's menu, and there are now two optional alternative menus, one of which supports alphabetic sorting of all the homebrew on your PSP.
  • Added memory reset after running the menu. This should make things much less sensitive to whatever has been run before them. Can be turned off in config.
  • Added memory reset on exit - this seems to make it easier to restart the loader.
  • Added clock-speed option to the config file, to allow automatic overclocking / underclocking of applications.
  • And of course, a nice holiday-themed background :)
Please make sure to view the README.TXT file for full details of how to run wifi homebrew, and how to use the new features.

You can get the optional 'Choice' menu from Xart's site here

Finally, a Merry Christmas to everyone - here's looking forward to an exciting year ahead for the PSP!

21 Dec 2005 : Interview by PSPEmulation.com  

I had the pleasure of giving an interview to the nice folks at PSPEmulation.com. You can read it here.

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