PSP Stuff

[DKTheArcadeRat]

Is there anything good I can download and play with updated firmware, or do I have to downgrade? Also, what are some good(preferably cheap) games available for the system? I've had it since launch, and am just getting around to wanting to use it.

[G-Boobie]

What's your firmware at currently? Are you running custom firmware, or are you using the 1.50 kernel?

So speaking generally, there are huge numbers of cool emulators and apps you can run on PSP. SnesTylx9 is an excellent SNES emulator; DGen is a Genesis Emulator, MVSPSP is a Neo Geo/MAME emulator, etc. etc. etc. Google them and there you go.

Homebrew is also pretty huge on PSP right now. Try http://www.PSPhacks.com for more info.

These of course generally require your PSP to be hacked. If that isn't your cup of tea, there's a decent library of UMD games to try, many of which can be had for twenty to thirty bucks.

[ssjlance]

Yeah, I would reccomend downgrading (that is, if you're firmware is already higher than 1.5) and installing the latest custom firmware. If you're PSP is an original "fat" PSP, also install the 1.5 kernel for added compatibility.

Actually, I think that they might have 1.5 kernel running on Slim now. Not sure though,

[roushimsx]

I've got a silly question that I hope y'all can help me with regarding this newfangled PSP modifying thingy-ma-jiggy...

Backstory: I bought a slim PSP (Daxter pack!) two weeks ago, brought it home, set up the wireless and initiated a firmware update. Firmware update failed 13% into the process and the system turned into a brick. Mailed it off for warranty work. I should be getting it back next week, and I'd very much enjoy not ever having to deal with warranty service ever again in the event of a future bricking. Thusly, I've decided it might be prudent to mod that fucker. I think.

Problem: I've seen various tutorials and guides and such,and I'm not really sure what's right for me. Do I have to go full on mod-style on the sucker, or do I really only need to be able to boot it up in service mode? Once I'm in service mode, what happens? If I have the legitimate 2.90 firmware on a memory stick duo (copied from my PC via this newly acquired multi-card USB adapter) , can I boot to service mode on a bricked PSP with a Datel Tool battery and choose to reload the firmware? How's that work?

It seems like all of the guides say you have to have a friend with a modded PSP to set up the stick / battery and such. Then again, most of the guides seem written with the understanding that the end user wants to load 1.50, a shit load of emulators, and then just pirate the fuck out of games.

Hell, on that topic:

How difficult is it to copy games from UMDs straight to the memory stick? How much does it really improve battery life by doing so? I've already gone ahead and ordered a new battery + cover and apparently it'll give me about 5-6 hours of lovin', but would I gain a substantional amount more by going the mod route and running games off of a card? Are there any benchmarks / charts / pretty pictures for me to look at that show the difference?

Reason I'm so curious: I've got a bit of a trip coming up and if I could minimize the amount of clutter to carry around, maximize battery effectiveness, and be able to repair things on the software side if anything went south...well, that'd just be awesome.

Also, I wish I could find Metal Gear Acid and Portable Ops around here. God damn. About to just take a walk on the 'bay or a trip to the amazon.

edit - tl;dr summary: I have no idea what the fuck I'm doing!

[zektor]

I think the talk of copying UMD's is against forum policy (actually, I *know* it is) so I won't go there. That is something that you'll have to research on your own.

As for the modding, I have modded dozens of Slim (and Phat) units using the pandora/magic stick method. While many people will say that you need a PSP to create the stick, it is possible to create one with your PC alone...as I have done this. Check the QJ forums and read the tutorials. It shouldn;t take you long to get a Slim compatible magic stick up and running. Next, you will need a service mode battery. If you know someone with a modded PSP that can still write to the battery's chip (new slims cannot do this now), a battery can be made out of a standard PSP battery. Or you can get one on ebay...which might be risky. Or finally, you can get the "Datel Tool Battery". I am actually selling a new one of these (Slim version) and recently listed it up in the buy/sell forums. If interested let me know. Hope this info helps!

[roushimsx]

I think the talk of copying UMD's is against forum policy (actually, I *know* it is) so I won't go there. That is something that you'll have to research on your own.


Bummer, I thought that it was just against forum policy to do silly stuff like talk about downloading images and whatnot. I figured asking how to copy to the memory stick would be about as OK as asking about HDLoader and such. Ahh well, consistency is for sissies.

Thanks for the good scoop, looks like I'll be ok to just set up the memory stick right on the ol' PC. I'll google on a bit more and see if I can find any hard numbers for the supposed improved battery life instead of the random forum hearsay that I've been finding. I'm not going to bother going full on mod-style with the sucker (too much of a pain with newer games and such from what I understand) unless it's really worth my while.

Regarding the Datel Tool sucker, I've been looking at picking one of those up but wasn't sure if it was all I needed or not. From the way a lot of the tutorials were written, they made it sound like I needed to still have a modded PSP to set up the batter or some such? I have no idea whiskey tango foxtrot. I figured the battery was already hardwired to boot the sucker into service mode anyway.

Does it still function as a battery despite that? ie. Can I rely on it to provide me with some juice so that I can play a few hours of Gun Showdown or is it only good for when I need to perform maintenance (ie. debrick the damn thing should I ever have a problem again)?

/me wanders off to buy/sell to do some window shopping (hope you're selling some PSP games, too :( )

[zektor]

The Datel Tool Battery is a Pandora...it will only work for service mode (you still need to make your own magic stick). Now, when I say "only", I mean you CANNOT use it as a normal battery...it is hard wired to be a service mode battery only.

[roushimsx]

The Datel Tool Battery is a Pandora...it will only work for service mode (you still need to make your own magic stick). Now, when I say "only", I mean you CANNOT use it as a normal battery...it is hard wired to be a service mode battery only.

Ahh fudge, that's a bummer. Still sounds like it might be a nice way to avoid the whole ~3 week warranty exchange process in the future, though. Decisions, decisions... :(

edit - more questions:

Are Japanese PSN Playstation games region locked for PSPs? Like, can I buy Adventures of Little Ralph or Xi and expect to be able to play it on a US PSP or would I be pretty much boned? Right now I only have Symphony of the Night (as everyone should!) and I'm debating Wild Arms, but god damn does the Japanese PSN store's offerings make me drool.

[consolecrusader]

I been modding PSP's since DA first starting building the CFW. Slim's now can carry the 1.50 kernal for Homebrew, and yes if you did mod your Slim like I did mine you do need a Pandora battery and memstick. Although we can nto go into COPYING UMD to a Memstick...It feels good to basically play whatever game you want from NES to SNES to Genesis to gameboy etc...as well as PSP games.

Right now I would say

Papton
God of War Chains of Olympus
Wild Arms XF

are most popular IMHO

[roushimsx]

It feels good to basically play whatever game you want from NES to SNES to Genesis to gameboy etc...as well as PSP games.

I don't really see myself being too interested in the emulation possibilities on the system outside of some of the PS1 stuff on the PSN Store. Something about playing NES/SNES/Genesis games with variable levels of frameskips and such just doesn't really appeal to me and I don't really get why everyone is so balls-out-crazy over the 1.50 firmware. Is it just because a bulk of the homebrew stuff hasn't been updated to supported the more recent custom firmware releases?

Are there any other interesting homebrew projects other than the emulators everyone is ga-ga over?



Papton
God of War Chains of Olympus
Wild Arms XF

I'm eyeballing Papton, but the other two are way out of my price range right now. Perhaps when I find them for $20 then I'll pull the trigger, but I'm trying to focus on scoring the games (preferably locally) I want at good prices....which is proving to be a bit tricky for some stuff, easy for others (Metal Gear Acid 2 for $9! Gun Showdown for $8!)

[G-Boobie]

I don't really see myself being too interested in the emulation possibilities on the system outside of some of the PS1 stuff on the PSN Store. [...]


I'm eyeballing Papton, but the other two are way out of my price range right now. Perhaps when I find them for $20 then I'll pull the trigger, but I'm trying to focus on scoring the games (preferably locally) I want at good prices....which is proving to be a bit tricky for some stuff, easy for others (Metal Gear Acid 2 for $9! Gun Showdown for $8!)

I wouldn't worry about hacking your PSP then. Unless you plan on running homebrew, emulators or loading PSOne ISO's on your memory card, there really isn't much point.

[roushimsx]

I wouldn't worry about hacking your PSP then. Unless you plan on running homebrew, emulators or loading PSOne ISO's on your memory card, there really isn't much point.

After stumbling on RemoteJoy, I'm absolutely sure that I want to mod. If the ability to dump clean screen captures was the only benefit to be gained from modding the system, then it'd be more than worth it to me. :)