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PSP: Let the Homebrew Coding Begin!

borghe said:
this is huge because we all know at bare minimum, ALL Japanese PSPs will be able to able to downgrade to 1.0 firmware and execute homebrew software (once they figure out how to write an app to read the BIOS). And even if apps do BIOS version checking, you can just run an upgrade to take you to the newest bios and you are good to go. then just downgrade back when you want to run homebrew.

the trick of course is to get this going on US PSPs. Of course if the US models are hardware identical and the region info is in the BIOS, well, that solves half of that problem.
Click to expand...

The problem is that US PSPs ship with 1.5, and there is no way to downgrade to 1.0.
Region code checking has nothing to do with lack of US support.
 
pcostabel said:
The problem is that US PSPs ship with 1.5, and there is no way to downgrade to 1.0.
Region code checking has nothing to do with lack of US support.
Click to expand...
right.. what I meant by half of the problem was solved is that if you could figure out how to get a 1.0 japanese firmware on the PSP, provided they were hardware identical, you wouldn't have to worry about how to crack the US' bios specifically.
 
pcostabel said:
In that case, people with older firmware would not be able to run the game or will be forced to update the firmare first. I don't see Sony doing something like this. On the PS2 the OS resides on disc. I doubt PSP is any different.
Click to expand...

I'm sure Sony can silently update the firmware from the disc (sort of like how some games on xbox update the dashboard). If that's the case they can just include the new firmware on new games.
 
Nerevar said:
I'm sure Sony can silently update the firmware from the disc (sort of like how some games on xbox update the dashboard). If that's the case they can just include the new firmware on new games.
Click to expand...

What about old games that depend on old firmware?

The way it works on the PS2 is that each game comes with the right version of the OS on disk. The OS is loaded from the disk in RAM before running the game. Firmware however resides in flash rom, so upgrading is not reversible.
Since the firmware is used to interact with the user, you don't want it to change every time a game is run. Bottom line, games should never depend on the firmware version, and most certaily should not update the firmware without notifying the user.

In other words, the firmware is the part of the software that takes care of non game stuff (UI, drivers for peripherals etc.). The OS is just a series of libraries that provide an API to game developers to interact with the hardware. The two are separate and I doubt any game will be dependent directly on the firmware's version. There could be issues with some things i.e. support for WiFi protocols that require a firware upgrade for a game to work properly, but nothing like a game that comes out with a dialog box saying "Sorry, you need to upgrade to version X.Y to run this game".
 
pcostabel said:
What about old games that depend on old firmware?

The way it works on the PS2 is that each game comes with the right version of the OS on disk. The OS is loaded from the disk in RAM before running the game. Firmware however resides in flash rom, so upgrading is not reversible.
Since the firmware is used to interact with the user, you don't want it to change every time a game is run. Bottom line, games should never depend on the firmware version, and most certaily should not update the firmware without notifying the user.

In other words, the firmware is the part of the software that takes care of non game stuff (UI, drivers for peripherals etc.). The OS is just a series of libraries that provide an API to game developers to interact with the hardware. The two are separate and I doubt any game will be dependent directly on the firmware's version. There could be issues with some things i.e. support for WiFi protocols that require a firware upgrade for a game to work properly, but nothing like a game that comes out with a dialog box saying "Sorry, you need to upgrade to version X.Y to run this game".
Click to expand...

Oh I agree, in fact, the example I was thinking of was WiFi protocols. I doubt firmware upgrades are going to be anywhere near regular, I'm just saying that I think if a game requires an updated firmware version I could certainly see Sony integrating it onto the disk and silently flashing it (AFAIK, the downloadable 1.5 firmware on the JP PSP units was an executable you ran off the memory stick ... I don't see why Sony couldn't do something similar off the UMD). And furthermore do you think if they update the firmware it won't be backwards-compatible? That doesn't seem reasonable to me.
 
Ignatz Mouse said:
PizzaFarmer: You're overlooking the most obvious hack-- hcking the firmware itself, so that it doesn't check the key at all. Given that we know this works in firmware 1.0, I have no doubt people are trying to find where the code that does this lives and replace it.

I would not be to surprised to see hacked versions of firmware for installation after a while.
Click to expand...

Ahh, but the firmware upgrade (or 'downgrade' if one existed) is... a signed executable! Meaning someone would have to hack the encryption to make a runnable firmware update.

Back to square one.
 
Joeholley said:
Ahh, but the firmware upgrade (or 'downgrade' if one existed) is... a signed executable! Meaning someone would have to hack the encryption to make a runnable firmware update.

Back to square one.
Click to expand...
back to square one indeed.. that's why I said only half way there. though it certainly does open up possibilities. to be able to get access to files and the firmware itself, unencrypted no less. and I guarantee we see a UMD browser in less than 30 days from today along with a firmware extractor. another huge step.
 
Ignatz Mouse said:
PizzaFarmer: You're overlooking the most obvious hack-- hcking the firmware itself, so that it doesn't check the key at all. Given that we know this works in firmware 1.0, I have no doubt people are trying to find where the code that does this lives and replace it.

I would not be to surprised to see hacked versions of firmware for installation after a while.
Click to expand...
I stopped writing because the post was getting too long. I was trying to address the entire topic of signature validation in a vacuum to keep things simple. :D

But yeah - that's certainly the most common hack - removing the protection checks altogether when possible.
 
Nerevar said:
Oh I agree, in fact, the example I was thinking of was WiFi protocols. I doubt firmware upgrades are going to be anywhere near regular, I'm just saying that I think if a game requires an updated firmware version I could certainly see Sony integrating it onto the disk and silently flashing it (AFAIK, the downloadable 1.5 firmware on the JP PSP units was an executable you ran off the memory stick ... I don't see why Sony couldn't do something similar off the UMD). And furthermore do you think if they update the firmware it won't be backwards-compatible? That doesn't seem reasonable to me.
Click to expand...

On PS2, every change to the OS requires a matching executable (i.e. no backward compatibility). Firmware updates should not break anything because the game does not interact directly with the firmware (which was my point). Sony can certaily include firmware updates with a game, but I doubt they will automatically flash the EPROM without warning... is this the way it works on Xbox?
 
pcostabel said:
is this the way it works on Xbox?
Click to expand...

No. Games do not update the Xbox firmware. Just the dashboard, and Xbox live parts which are on the HDD. This is recoverable if the instalation fails (whereas firmware flash failure is unrecoverable).
 
WTF, I've just got a mail from a friend and it seems like the warez guys are releasing PSP games left and right. I doubt this is a coincidence

Milhouse, where are you?
 
Wipeout_Pure_USA_PSP-PARADOX
Ridge_Racers_JAP_PSP-PARADOX
Vampire_Chronicle_The_Chaos_Tower_JAP_PSP-PARADOX

?????
 
I hope those games are not bootable from a MS, having piracy this early is not good, not good at all. Homebrew software is one thing, but warez... =/
 
Wario64 said:
Wipeout_Pure_USA_PSP-PARADOX
Ridge_Racers_JAP_PSP-PARADOX
Vampire_Chronicle_The_Chaos_Tower_JAP_PSP-PARADOX

?????
Click to expand...

And like that *snaps* the floodgates open. But would a 1G card be enough to hold the above?
 
Well you can't run em yet:

Of course you can't play this game yet, and you won't be playing it anytime soon on a burnt umd disc (as sony has already said they wont be releasing burners for these).

(Hint: UMDs use an iso9660 based filesystem, so this image file can be opened in any iso image browser such as isobuster to look at, extract and generally play with the files within. It could also be burnt to a dvd to let u access the files on your computer such as in windows explorer)
Click to expand...
 
Mmm, I can see Sony "solving" the problem including and updtae of the firmware in future discs.

But great news ;) mine is not updated (I almost did it). I couldn´t care less about warez (except for saying "sorry" to Sony). But I really want to play emulators on PSP.
 
Vampire_Chronicle_The_Chaos_Tower_JAP_PSP-PARADOX [407.4MB in 29 files].
Wipeout_Pure_USA_PSP-PARADOX [132.9MB in 10 files].
Ridge_Racers_JAP_PSP-PARADOX [491.4MB in 35 files].


these games are tiny! 132 MB for Wipeout Pure? the hell?
 
Fuck MAME and warez. I just want them to get some solid NES, SMS, SNES, and Genny emus going. YEAH.
 
these games are tiny! 132 MB for Wipeout Pure? the hell?
Click to expand...
The other two are not exactly tiny, but I'm a bit surprised about W:P. Well maybe not that surprised. The music in that game is some kind of MOD files after all.
 
Should this at least give a lot of confidence to the modchip community? I mean, if a bios version alone can circumvent the protection, then it should be pretty elementary to make a mod chip that'll spoof this same "glitch". I'm not sure though, I know very little about the PSP hardware itself. In any case, did the PSP at least last longer than the GBA and DS before pirates cracked it? :lol

+1 pirates. Whether you agree with it or not, I'm always amazed by how groups of freelance techies always manage to overcome even the greatest securty measures. PEACE.
 
Pimpwerx said:
Should this at least give a lot of confidence to the modchip community? I mean, if a bios version alone can circumvent the protection, then it should be pretty elementary to make a mod chip that'll spoof this same "glitch". I'm not sure though, I know very little about the PSP hardware itself. In any case, did the PSP at least last longer than the GBA and DS before pirates cracked it? :lol

+1 pirates. Whether you agree with it or not, I'm always amazed by how groups of freelance techies always manage to overcome even the greatest securty measures. PEACE.
Click to expand...

they didn't "overcome" anything though. Sony forgot to include a check to see if the binary was digitally signed on their v1.0 firmware. It would be like if Sony "forgot" to check to see if a PS2 DVD was a legit gamedisk and not a burned game before it was run on their first run. The pirates really didn't "crack" anything ... yet.
 
Marconelly said:
The other two are not exactly tiny, but I'm a bit surprised about W:P. Well maybe not that surprised. The music in that game is some kind of MOD files after all.
Click to expand...

pdx-wipeout.iso = 241 MB

Still just over 1/8 capacity of a UMD.
 
Nerevar said:
they didn't "overcome" anything though. Sony forgot to include a check to see if the binary was digitally signed on their v1.0 firmware. It would be like if Sony "forgot" to check to see if a PS2 DVD was a legit gamedisk and not a burned game before it was run on their first run. The pirates really didn't "crack" anything ... yet.
Click to expand...

Which, coincidentally, it what Sony did with the first-run PSX (no region checking) and Sega did with the DC (all but the last rev run CDR games).
 
The End said:
...and Sega did with the DC (all but the last rev run CDR games).
Click to expand...

I thought you needed a boot-disc to play CD-R games? That would trick the DC into thinking it was running "signed" code when it wasn't.
 
Nerevar said:
I thought you needed a boot-disc to play CD-R games? That would trick the DC into thinking it was running "signed" code when it wasn't.
Click to expand...


Sort of. The "signature" was trivial, and most releases after the first batch had the 16 or so bytes inserted at the beginning of the ISO.
 
Jesus shitting fuck ass christ!

Fuck MAME?

Are you people retarded?

Excuse me bish, can I borrow the banstick for a moment.

Considering some of the best arcade games of the time were totally ass raped to be dumbed down for your monkey brain NES and Genesis systems I suggest - FUCK CONSOLE EMULATORS and give me the real deal.

MAME PSP, OR DIE!

You can just re-purchase all your NES favorites on the Creatively Bankrupt Line for the GBA at $19.99 a pop.
 
The Take Out Bandit said:
Jesus shitting fuck ass christ!

Fuck MAME?

Are you people retarded?

Excuse me bish, can I borrow the banstick for a moment.

Considering some of the best arcade games of the time were totally ass raped to be dumbed down for your monkey brain NES and Genesis systems I suggest - FUCK CONSOLE EMULATORS and give me the real deal.

MAME PSP, OR DIE!

You can just re-purchase all your NES favorites on the Creatively Bankrupt Line for the GBA at $19.99 a pop.
Click to expand...
I just want an emu for the original titles, not the arcade ports. You know there are more titles than arcade games on consoles right? And there are also lots of good titles that will never see a rerelease proper. That is why we want NES and SNES emus.

Your priorities are for MAME, some others like myself have our priorities on consoles. Simple as that.
 
PhoncipleBone said:
I just want an emu for the original titles, not the arcade ports. You know there are more titles than arcade games on consoles right? And there are also lots of good titles that will never see a rerelease proper. That is why we want NES and SNES emus.

Your priorities are for MAME, some others like myself have our priorities on consoles. Simple as that.
Click to expand...


I want it all.

I want the old arcade games (all of them) and I also want titles like Umhara Kawase (or whatever) and the superior home ports of games like Ms Pac-Man (new modes and mazes). Plus, seeing Mario jumping around on my PSP will be awesome. :)
 
Calims to have cracked UMD format.
New thread?

Edit: Irk! ISOs on the site! Removed link.
 
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