Dark_Alex’s 2.71 XMB Homebrew Launcher! Homebrew from the Game Menu!
Our PSP “scene” has been lucky enough to have some real legendary characters. First, we had groups like PSP-Dev, later on, MPH. We can’t forget Fanjita and Ditlew, and now, joining their ranks at a blistering pace is none other than Dark_Alex. It seems the guy jumps from one big bombshell to the next.
Dark_Alex has just announced that he was busy making a 2.71 XMB homebrew launcher. Now you guys might be wondering how this might be different from Noobz‘ eLoader. Well, this is another bombshell guys! Dark_Alex has succeeded in being able to launch homebrew from the Game Menu in the PSP’s XMB, or the Main menu as some might call it. Big news, huh? Well, it doesn’t stop there! If Dark_Alex has his way, this will probably pave the way for kernel mode homebrew launching from the XMB itself!
But for now, the method is limited and can’t load “standard” homebrew as we know it (static ELF files) and in order to make use of this XMB Loader, games will have to be ported or created in PRX form:
“Current homebrews are not supported. Since current homebrews are in static elf format, they won’t run (they are rejected by the 2.71 kernel). Homebrews for 2.71 have to be in prx format. As mentioned before, homebrew has to be in prx format, at least atm. Furthermore, the main prx, the one in the pbp, has to be an user prx. However this user prx can load unsigned kernel modules from the memory stick, allowing kernel mode apps.”
The great thing from the programmers’ perspective is the fact that you can load unsigned kernel modules from the Memory Stick. This means that they will get all the freedom which 1.5 has offered until now. For developers who are interested in creating or porting existing programs to be “PRX compatible”, you can find information and details in the readme, so we hope to see a flurry of compatible homebrew in the next few days!
You should be warned, this program does write to flash, so as with any flash memory-related programs, be very careful and use at your own risk even if the chances of bricking is extremely remote.
“This program enables homebrew to be run in 2.71 through the XMB. It makes a patch that remains
permanent until hardware reset. Sleep mode won’t remove the patch.
Note: this program writes some small files in the flash, ONLY the first time is executed.
IT does NOT rewrite any existing file in the system, it writes new files, so the probabilities of
bricking are practically null.“
But, there is a ray of hope. Dark_Alex has said that in future versions, he may patch the kernel to accept static ELFs. That would mean that 2.71 will be able to run all the homebrew which 1.5 is known for! Let’s just hope that in the near future, 2.71 can dethrone 1.5 as the “golden firmware”. Hey! It doesn’t sound all that improbable now. With the great work of people like Dark_Alex and his friends, Fanjita and crew, we’re well on our way to making firmware 2.71 the primary homebrew firmware!
Here’s the proof-of-concept, directly from Dark_Alex’s site. Again, you should be careful before running this since it writes to the flash. Please check out the readme before doing anything else, there’s a lot of important information in there. Oh, and the champagne? That’s for Dark_Alex and his friends 😉
Download: [Dark_Alex’s 2.71 XMB Homebrew Launcher Proof-of-Concept (Revision A)]
Our PSP “scene” has been lucky enough to have some real legendary characters. First, we had groups like PSP-Dev, later on, MPH. We can’t forget Fanjita and Ditlew, and now, joining their ranks at a blistering pace is none other than Dark_Alex. It seems the guy jumps from one big bombshell to the next.
Dark_Alex has just announced that he was busy making a 2.71 XMB homebrew launcher. Now you guys might be wondering how this might be different from Noobz‘ eLoader. Well, this is another bombshell guys! Dark_Alex has succeeded in being able to launch homebrew from the Game Menu in the PSP’s XMB, or the Main menu as some might call it. Big news, huh? Well, it doesn’t stop there! If Dark_Alex has his way, this will probably pave the way for kernel mode homebrew launching from the XMB itself!
But for now, the method is limited and can’t load “standard” homebrew as we know it (static ELF files) and in order to make use of this XMB Loader, games will have to be ported or created in PRX form:
“Current homebrews are not supported. Since current homebrews are in static elf format, they won’t run (they are rejected by the 2.71 kernel). Homebrews for 2.71 have to be in prx format. As mentioned before, homebrew has to be in prx format, at least atm. Furthermore, the main prx, the one in the pbp, has to be an user prx. However this user prx can load unsigned kernel modules from the memory stick, allowing kernel mode apps.”
The great thing from the programmers’ perspective is the fact that you can load unsigned kernel modules from the Memory Stick. This means that they will get all the freedom which 1.5 has offered until now. For developers who are interested in creating or porting existing programs to be “PRX compatible”, you can find information and details in the readme, so we hope to see a flurry of compatible homebrew in the next few days!
You should be warned, this program does write to flash, so as with any flash memory-related programs, be very careful and use at your own risk even if the chances of bricking is extremely remote.
“This program enables homebrew to be run in 2.71 through the XMB. It makes a patch that remains
permanent until hardware reset. Sleep mode won’t remove the patch.
Note: this program writes some small files in the flash, ONLY the first time is executed.
IT does NOT rewrite any existing file in the system, it writes new files, so the probabilities of
bricking are practically null.“
But, there is a ray of hope. Dark_Alex has said that in future versions, he may patch the kernel to accept static ELFs. That would mean that 2.71 will be able to run all the homebrew which 1.5 is known for! Let’s just hope that in the near future, 2.71 can dethrone 1.5 as the “golden firmware”. Hey! It doesn’t sound all that improbable now. With the great work of people like Dark_Alex and his friends, Fanjita and crew, we’re well on our way to making firmware 2.71 the primary homebrew firmware!
Here’s the proof-of-concept, directly from Dark_Alex’s site. Again, you should be careful before running this since it writes to the flash. Please check out the readme before doing anything else, there’s a lot of important information in there. Oh, and the champagne? That’s for Dark_Alex and his friends 😉
Download: [Dark_Alex’s 2.71 XMB Homebrew Launcher Proof-of-Concept (Revision A)]