My opinion on cracking FW

[IndianCheese]

Alright, now. Here is what I say about cracking the firmware.

Game exploits are great, but they take a while to load, offer no/little flash modding, and no downgrading, so that is our final "out". I think that hackers should focus attention on the XMB hacking. If someone were to find an exploit, however, the best idea would be to tell others you found an exploit and leave it at that until Sony releases new firmwares so the features are out alongside the homebrew. (i.e. someone finds a flash exploit. they tell others on a forum but dont give any details. when the ps1 emulator is released, he unveils his hack.)

Also, would it be possible to create a homebrew program that executes the processes of another and writes it to raw code that is similar to the original? I don't think it would be difficult, seeing as the text of the code must still be within the program for it to be deciphered (try running homebrew through fileassistant and exiting the program with the home button. a portion of code flashes onto the screen for a brief moment alongside the "Please wait..." text.)

I am personally surprised that the Sony PSP Application writer/compiler has not been leaked yet. I have seen some screenshots of it and realized how close that milk and honey really is to homebrew developers and those who enjoy it. I don't, personally, think that a "digital sigging program" for homebrew will ever be made because that would involve the decompiling/recompiling of the EBOOT, as I described above, which no one has seemed to attempt. It's not just as simple as injecting a line of jumble into an EBOOT. Maybe there is no signature. Maybe the PSP checks the hex for "bridge data," which could be a specific string of hex data that appears at the crossing point of data from one file within the EBOOT to another (like possibly the end of DATA.PSP and the beginning of PARAM.SFO). Who knows?

Just my opinion. Leave yours, but plz don't flame me for my thoughts.

[cloud_952]

The problem with there being a sigging program and decompiling/recompiling programs is that we are now doing something that is illegal. It really sucks, because that's what happened with the Xbox scene. Sure, there's alot of cool stuff that you can do on a chipped Xbox, but the authors of the programs are also using illegal software to make it, which means that they could be prosecuted. No one likes doing that. It's also the principle of the thing. Right now, people argue with Sony because all they want to do is run programs that they write on their own console which they bought. They don't want to hurt anyone. Once you cross the line into illegal activity, you don't go back, and then people lose respect for your cause.

[b8a]

Additionally, what's the point in simply announcing that an exploit has been found? 1) That's what "noobs" have been proclaiming for a long time anyway (exploits without proof, think of A-holes like chrisfile. If this were operating policy in the homebrew community, immature freaks like him would start popping up left and right), and 2), lets say that the exploit was announced (but not detailed) by someone reputable. That lets Sony know that something IS out there, and possibly gives them clues of where to look for it. I still maintain that it's best to keep entirely quiet about any legitimate discoveries until after the Christmas season. If there are exploits to be found, it's entirely possible that Sony will find them on their own, but I'd rather play it safe and not have the entire homebrew community working for them for free and shooting themselves in the head at the same time. Just my opinion, and I'm sure that if any legitimate exploits are found, they're going to be revealed irregardless...

[IndianCheese]

To those who think of it as piracy and such: In the words of a famous lawyer: "They are your bytes. You should be able to do whatever you want with them."

[N64DUDE]

true. i paid 300euro for my psp and i should be able to do whatever i want with it. i paid for it after all. Sony blocking even homebrew again on v2.7 made me sick. there wasnt even a iso loader for 2.6.

i was against piracy on the psp before that. but now they have blocked homebrew once more (why? its doing sony no harm whatsoever!) i hope someone creates a downgrader or iso loader for v2.6/2.7 so we can all stick our middle fingers up at sony. I for one will use them if they are released now, but as i said until sony blocked homebrew again i was all against piracy, but not now.

[robotdevil]

I'm still against piracy. And if all you care about is homebrew why bother to update in the first place? I run a 2.00 PSP because I can't give up my NesterJ. I'd like to play things like Mega Man X, but it's just not worth it to upgrade. Secondly, you don't OWN your PSP, you lease the rights to use it. Read your EULA (End User License Agreement) in the back of your manual and you'll see. Sony, for all legal purposes, still owns the PSP unit and all software involved. Any use of the system outside it's intended purposes can carry civil and/or criminal penalties. As does modifying the code. There are a number of threads about this very thing. I personally think it sucks, but I also understand the companies desire to maintain control of their 2 billion dollar investment (Yes Sony spends alot of money in R&D).

So while I will keep looking for ways around Sony's control, I'm also not going to bitch about them updating their product. Fight the system, don't just bitch about it.

[BALL_SAC]

I personallly belive that there is a potential exploit in the RSS channels. There has to be a way to hack that.

[Parris]

I am a complete novice and have never even attempted to hack into any console software or hardware. My life is spent dealing with audio & visual installations (mainly for a very large retail company in the UK), which combines my love of film, music and ultimately gaming.

My gaming interest began when I was 12yrs old and given an 8-bit Amstrad 6128, which at the time was state of the art and worth £1,000. I was immediately hooked.

My query is really relating to a point that was made in the above thread.

If hacking into the hardware (or software to exploit the hardware) is deemed illegal and the activity is generally shut down by the manufacturers, then what is the point of spending vast amounts of time & effort hacking into these systems in the first place?

I realise it sounds a naive question and I also understand the thrill of achieving something deemed by the arrogant manufacturers as 'impossible' must drive a great many people into this kind of thing, but it's not like a mountain 'I climbed it because it was there'. Climbing this mountain could make you infamous amongst other hackers and gamers, but you are only alerting these manufacturers to the issues and as mention previously in this thread 'doing their work for them' without getting a penny for your hard earned efforts!

From my side, as a regular gamer I have never owned a piece of illegal, hacked or chipped gaming equipment. All of those that I know who have end up regretting it as they report bugs, issues, hardware faults and the like.

The idea of actually developing software sounds amazing. I've seen the developers kits for the PS1, PS2 and the Gamecube and drooled over the possiblity of just putting together software along the likes of early BitMap titles (Xenon etc) for these consoles as more & more I find the titles I want to play are no longer being produced in favour of flashy, graphics driven & boring rehashes of material I have already seen. It takes a great title these days to entice me into spending £50 on a game for my 360.

If the bulk of the activity you guys are doing is either borderline or actually illegal and you face the possibility of prosecution and your work being buried by large corporates, then why indulge in getting your fingers burnt?

I recall the famous Sony V Connectix case. At the time the PS1 reigned supreme and a PS1 emulator was produced by Connectix that changed a standard Apple iMac into a rather lack lustre PS1 (the audio was poor, the graphic clunky and only a certain percentage of games worked), but Sony went ape! They tied Connectix in so much legal red tape that by the time it was over (given that the judge stated (and I think this is where the comment already quoted fits in) that an end user can do whatever they want with a product they own) the PS2 was due for release and the emulator was useless.

Connectix were bought out by Sony and that was that! Large corporate manufacturer protecting it's assests inspite of the legal view.

My own personal stance is that I am completely against piracy. Not just for obvious reasons (probably documented in a host of forums & threads), but mostly because I feel that we tend to disregard & possibly even neglect the fact that someone (not just a large, faceless conglomeration) has put their heart felt work into producing a product or piece of software for pleasure rather than pain.

Of all the industries that truly deserve two fingers stuck up at them, the entertainment industry (be it music, film or gaming) seems the least threatening and the most 'entertaining' (in all senses of the word). It's only right that these individuals or organisations should be able & allowed to protect their assests.

Most people would agree that you shouldn't just be able to walk into a library and start destroying books with little regard. Same with art work hanging in galleries or piece of historic architecture etc. A great deal of pleasure is derived from these pieces and by taking them away they are lost. They may not be unique or even to your taste, but some form of protection should prevail surely?

Are the likes of Sony, Microsoft, Nintendo & all plethora of software developers not within their rights to protect their developments so that the majority of people can enjoy the benefits of their hard labour?

Surely to just find ways and means of by-passing security features and allow pirate copies of software is just defeating the purpose of your aims, which is surely to enjoy the whole experience of gaming? If you take away a manufacturer or developers ability to claw back revenue (and I understand it can run into the millions per title and billions per machine) then they go bust, produce less or worse still, produce rubbish they know will sell but costs less to develop!

Genuine and serious comments please? I'm no do gooder or about to faint at the mere whiff of illegal activity. I am genuinely interested and can't for the life of me see any reasonable excuse or reason why someone should feel that they are entitled and within their rights to subvert or manipulate protected systems/data purely for their own purpose. Sorry if this is in the wrong thread, I am just really curious as to what you guys (who are obviously involved in this area) think?

Some of the thread comments have been very interesting and I can also see that there are those involved in this area that are also against piracy.

Please, feel free to rant back at me! I am playing devils advocate somewhat.

[robotdevil]

Great post, a bit long, but great questioning. It's not our right, duty or entitlement to subvert authority, it's merely our upbringing. Well, us US folks anyway. Mostly, the reason I support the homebrew scene is because those development kits cost $15,000-$25,000. And for no good reason (Nintendo states on their site that it's to ensure only commited developers). Some commercial games are made for the sake of selling, some are made to be generally treasured. but most homebrew games are made for the sheer love of gaming.

The other reason is that some of these games being ported have been abandoned and left for dead (i.e. my project <---shameless self promotion-- Privateer PSP Gold). EA has been contacted, and they know this is happening, they just don't care. If I hafta subvert the authority of the large evil corporation to get my game running, so be it. But if asked, I would stop. Most of the stuff produced (at least on this site) is actually helping the sales of the PSP. And with homebrew apps running from the memory stick the battery life goes from 3hours to 6hours.

So there's alot of good reasons to play with fire. If nobody played with fire we wouldn't have pyrotechnicians. For some a learning tool, for others something to occupy thier time. For me, love of the oldies.

Hope that helps.

Also, it's no coinicence that the "devils advocate" is being answered by the Robot Devil...

[Kaiser]

To those who think of it as piracy and such: In the words of a famous lawyer: "They are your bytes. You should be able to do whatever you want with them."

i was against piracy on the psp before that. but now they have blocked homebrew once more (why? its doing sony no harm whatsoever!) i hope someone creates a downgrader or iso loader for v2.6/2.7 so we can all stick our middle fingers up at sony. I for one will use them if they are released now, but as i said until sony blocked homebrew again i was all against piracy, but not now.

Don't attempt to justify PSP Piracy. People should buy their damn games, there is no excuse for UMD piracy. People who create ISO loaders should not be respected, we don't need those coders in our scene.