Monday, August 30, 2010

Half Byte Loader Revision 99

The new revision 99 of HBL was released today, shortly after revision 98. A small mistake was made in fixing memory cards for PSP Go, that killed HBL on the Go completely, hence the quick new version. Included in these was improved syscall estimation, which nearly puts 6.20 back up there with the rest of the firmwares on non-Go PSPs, and my patch for the home button, which should work in 99% of cases. Any time the home button fails to work, such as crashing or freezing, it would be nice to see a dbglog, post it at the advancedpsp forums like all other HBL dbglogs. Hopefully nobody has problems with it, though.

You can get it from: http://wololo.net/wagic/hbl/

Here is a full version change list from both:

2010/08/29 (JJS)
- Added Nymphaeas patch that allows to exit HBL to the XMB by using the HOME exit menu (
http://advancedpsp.tk/foro_es/viewtopic.php?f=37&t=1046 )
- Added code to get additional syscalls using the stubs of utility dialogs loaded into p5.
-- This means sceCtrlPeekBufferPositive can now always be used and the option to override it is now obsolete for all 6.20 users.
-- Also all relevant sceIO* functions should be perfectly estimated now.
- Fix for issue 43 (crash on start from MS on the GO). Kernel dump is now saved to ef0.
- Fix for issue 306 (control issues). Hopefully fixed by replacing the sceCtrlReadBufferPositive call with sceCtrlPeekBufferPositive.
- Corrected 5.70 nids files. Thanks n00b81!
- Corrected scesuspendforuser.nids for 5.xx and 6.xx.
2010/08/30 (Wololo)
- fix a bug introduced in r98 that prevents syscalls from being correctly estimated on pspgo 6.20 (error reading kdump)

I'll try to post updates on HBL here from now on, considering it is one of the bigger things in PSP right now, and that it is what I use.



(source: http://wololo.net/wagic/2010/08/30/half-byte-loader-r9-by-jjs/)

Friday, August 27, 2010

Sorry for delays

EDIT: Okay so maybe one day was a bit of a hasty number. I decided to start working into graphics programming, because I don't want to have to reprogram my new input method later for NyMenu. So the translation tool, which I decided to call "LanguageTool", will be graphical. Makes including the graphical previews much easier anyways, so I may include that with the first release as well. I have changed the extension of the language files to '.FLF', as well, standing for "Formatted Language File." Hopefully someone else ends up using this whole translation thing, it seems like it could be useful. I will try getting it done ASAP.

As the title says, sorry for the delays. I've been helping friends with things, made my raver friend some fuzzy leg warmers, and fighting an annoying little infection on my elbow, which has made using my computer a bit difficult. I have gotten a cream for the infection, and have 3 or 4 days of free time, so I'll get back to work.

I will try releasing the translation tool later today or more likely, tomorrow. It will be a psp homebrew(too lazy to make it for pc hehe) that will allow you to create '.lang' files, which will be used by simpleMenu and future projects to allow translations. It will also allow making of '.prvw' files, which will contain the rest of the info needed for viewing how that translation file will look, so you can preview them. It will come with 'english.lang' which you can translate for simpleMenu, and 'simpleMenu.prvw' for previewing them.

Obviously, the previews are for text mode, when I move to making NyMenu, maybe I will allow images to be included with preview files so that translations can be previewed for anything, but right now I'm trying to catch up, so I'll add features as needed.

After the translation tool is done(I'll come up with a clever name when I release it I'm sure) I'll work on simpleMenu v3. Hopefully people using the tool can share a few translations before I release version 3, that way it can come with a few by default.

Sunday, August 15, 2010

simpleMenu v3 and NyMenu coming

I really need to start making more posts to this blog, lazy little me.

Well, simplemenu v3 should hopefully be out within a week. After it is complete and released, I will work on making a graphical menu, which I will name NyMenu. It will do pretty much everything I have seen people ask for in the menu. It will contain the time and battery levels, all the features of simpleMenu(minus eXtra menu), a nice clean look totally different from the other HBL menus available now, display the icon of the homebrew if available, play the homebrew's sound file if available, and possibly more, who knows.

After NyMenu is done, I will be working on making a 2D fighting-learning game. Wierd mix? Oh well, it works. It will be focused on those trying to learn Japanese, more specifically to read the kana and kanji, and to do so in a fast paced, action filled setting so to make the learning a bit more fun. Because the game will be based around reading characters, it could possibly be modified to allow other languages that do not use latin characters as well.

Now here is a list of the new features I am working on for simpleMenu v3:
~ A search function
~ Multiple languages can be loaded from a menu/language/ subdirectory.
~ A language file editor for those who wish to contribute changes.
~ Four sorting methods instead of the original idea of six. It appears the PSP autosorts eboot-less directories alphabetically at the top of the list, so you will have the choice of alphabetic or modification date sorting for eboots, as well as a choice of having directories first or last.
~ Built in HBL config editor. The only problem with this will be that it removes any commenting from the config file, but otherwise it will work.
~ I will possibly be changing from my textinput method to a danzef-like method, as it should be a bit faster.


Well, expect to see more when that is done. I may release the language editor before the menu so that there can be some alternatives included in the simpleMenu v3 release.

Saturday, August 7, 2010

A change of pace

I thought I would post about something other than PSP for once, I'm not giving up on it don't worry, just thought I should write some of my other geekiness here for once.

Lately I've been looking up on hydroponics, and I'm thinking of making a small garden soon. Most likely an ebb and flow one. For those that don't know, hydroponics is a method of growing plants without soil, supplying nutrients directly in the water. There are 6 major designs for a garden, some passive and simple, others a little more complicated.

Ebb and flow hydroponic gardens basically have a tank of fluid below the garden, with a pump inside the tank to pump the fluid to flood the garden. There is an overflow pipe, so that it doesn't litterally flood, and when the pump is turned off the water drains back through the pipe to let the plants roots get air. This could be controlled with a timer, or possibly a computer.(I might build a small PIC circuit for mine)

I'm planning on growing grape tomatoes, just because they are amazing. I currently have some seeds fermenting to get rid of that slimey coating, they should be ready to use in about a week or so. Still not entirely sure what I'm going to use to make my actual garden, though. When I figure it out I'll post instructions.

For those PSP people patient enough to read through all this, I am looking for ideas for things to program for PSP. I'm thinking of possibly dropping the RegEdit, just because the main hacks you would do using it are already made into homebrew,(buttonhack and fontmod) but if anyone is still interested just say so and I'll bring it back up. Things I'm thinking of making right now are mic-based homebrew(a recording program, a walkie talkie, and a tuner, are the three I'm focused on) and possibly a top down shooter, though that would be a bit further in the future most likely. I would love to hear other peoples ideas for homebrew they think is still needed for the PSP, it's better to know your work is wanted.

I also would love ideas on the hydroponic garden, if anyone has any experience or even if someone would like to try and want me to post more info about it, please comment. In my oppinion hydroponics is probably one of the best ways to garden, just takes a bit of geekiness to get started ;)

Tuesday, August 3, 2010

simpleMenu Version 2

A tiny bit late, but here it is! I decided to do some extensive testing this time before releasing it, so I think I caught all the bugs, but I would still love it if people could keep an eye out for them.

Here are the download links:
simpleMenu v2
simpleMenu v2 (eBoot only)

And here's the feature listing:
~Unlimited homebrew loading
~Sorting of homebrew using directories
~eXtra Menu now supports directories, which will be opened in the eBoot Menu
~Pressing L and R will open the simpleHacks menu, a personalization tool
~Change foreground and background colors in simpleHacks
~Change how eboot names are handled in simpleHacks
~Change which button is used for selecting, circle or cross, in simpleHacks
~eXtra Editor now in simpleHacks, old bugs fixed and now allows 10 entries