Hacking [Release] ARK-4 CFW port for PSP.
- Thread starter Acid_Snake
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Hello guys.
It is with deep sorrow and sadness that I announce the news that my long time scene friend and co-developer of ARK, Gregory Pitka (aka qwikrazor87), was brutally murdered this past 3rd of July in an unjustifiable and senseless act.
The PSP and Vita scene are in mourn for our lost brother, a pillar in the community that gave so much and asked for so little.
It will be extremely difficult for me to move on with this project without the brilliant mind that Greg was, and his memory will forever burn in the back on my mind when working on this project.
This does not mean I will abandon it, as I believe he would have loved to see the developments made, and I will continue to make sure his legacy in this project is still alive, with lots of his own code still being the rock base of ARK today.
This said, I have decided to compile a few changes and improvements I've made in the past week, and make a proper release with a dedicatory message for our friend that will be visible in the Custom Launcher's settings menu (or the Recovery Menu) every 3rd of July.
https://github.com/PSP-Archive/ARK-4/releases/tag/r180
R.I.P. Dear Friend. I have already missed you before, now I will have to miss you forever.
It is with deep sorrow and sadness that I announce the news that my long time scene friend and co-developer of ARK, Gregory Pitka (aka qwikrazor87), was brutally murdered this past 3rd of July in an unjustifiable and senseless act.
The PSP and Vita scene are in mourn for our lost brother, a pillar in the community that gave so much and asked for so little.
It will be extremely difficult for me to move on with this project without the brilliant mind that Greg was, and his memory will forever burn in the back on my mind when working on this project.
This does not mean I will abandon it, as I believe he would have loved to see the developments made, and I will continue to make sure his legacy in this project is still alive, with lots of his own code still being the rock base of ARK today.
This said, I have decided to compile a few changes and improvements I've made in the past week, and make a proper release with a dedicatory message for our friend that will be visible in the Custom Launcher's settings menu (or the Recovery Menu) every 3rd of July.
https://github.com/PSP-Archive/ARK-4/releases/tag/r180
R.I.P. Dear Friend. I have already missed you before, now I will have to miss you forever.
Friend, I saw the news, I hope "she" pays for what she did, that justice is done. Indeed it is an inestimable loss for all of us. My condolences to our friend "qwikrazor" who brought happiness to all of us in the scene. Rest in peace.
Absolute tragic news. My condolences Acid_Snake. A terrible loss in such shocking circumstances for his family and friends. The PSP/Vita scene will be much poorer without him.
Rip qwikrazor87 and thank you for your work in the community throughout the years.
My deepest sympathies @Acid_Snake. I'm positive that Gregory and his massive contributions will forever be remembered in this community. Sending healing to his family and friends.
Hey guys, thank so much for all the support, I keep on working on this project, improving and fixing issues that you help me discover and ideas that you give me.
A new release is here, version 4.18.1, which includes improvements to the File Browser UI design (Custom Launcher), improvements in the Inferno ISO driver as well as fixes for MacroFire and DayViewer plugins that were previously incompatible.
You can find the download link here:
https://github.com/PSP-Archive/ARK-4/releases/tag/r181
Let me know if you encounter any bugs, incompatible plugin or simply have an idea for a feature or improvement.
I certaintly do listen to any and all reports, even if it can take some time for me to work on them due to real life.
A new release is here, version 4.18.1, which includes improvements to the File Browser UI design (Custom Launcher), improvements in the Inferno ISO driver as well as fixes for MacroFire and DayViewer plugins that were previously incompatible.
You can find the download link here:
https://github.com/PSP-Archive/ARK-4/releases/tag/r181
Let me know if you encounter any bugs, incompatible plugin or simply have an idea for a feature or improvement.
I certaintly do listen to any and all reports, even if it can take some time for me to work on them due to real life.
And here's a new release:
https://github.com/PSP-Archive/ARK-4/releases/tag/r182
Inferno ISO Driver now consumes less RAM and the File Browser can move files instantly (only on PSP).
https://github.com/PSP-Archive/ARK-4/releases/tag/r182
Inferno ISO Driver now consumes less RAM and the File Browser can move files instantly (only on PSP).
And another release:
https://github.com/PSP-Archive/ARK-4/releases/tag/r183
This one adds the ability for the custom launcher to scan categorized items, very helpful for those who use Game Categories Lite and want their categorized games to show up in the custom launcher.
It also adds the ability to playback UMD Video ISOs. Simply copy them to /ISO/VIDEO/ folder and use the file browser (custom launcher or recovery menu) to launch the ISO, which will reboot to the XMB where you can play the movie.
Note: this feature requires turning off autoboot launcher since the XMB is needed to playback the movie.
https://github.com/PSP-Archive/ARK-4/releases/tag/r183
This one adds the ability for the custom launcher to scan categorized items, very helpful for those who use Game Categories Lite and want their categorized games to show up in the custom launcher.
It also adds the ability to playback UMD Video ISOs. Simply copy them to /ISO/VIDEO/ folder and use the file browser (custom launcher or recovery menu) to launch the ISO, which will reboot to the XMB where you can play the movie.
Note: this feature requires turning off autoboot launcher since the XMB is needed to playback the movie.
Thanks to @ital for bringing this to my attention. 
Games that didn't run (e.g. Prince of Persia series, PES 2014), now they do.
Would be great if it had PS1 compatibility in the future. There are a few that via Adrenaline don't play (e.g. Dukes of Hazzard, Zero Divide).
Loading games via the File Browser is a lot nicer than browsing thru a menu, imo.
Thanks to the dev.
Games that didn't run (e.g. Prince of Persia series, PES 2014), now they do.
Would be great if it had PS1 compatibility in the future. There are a few that via Adrenaline don't play (e.g. Dukes of Hazzard, Zero Divide).
Loading games via the File Browser is a lot nicer than browsing thru a menu, imo.
Thanks to the dev.
The reason why I removed PS1 compatibility is because I didn't want to include Sony files with ARK releases (in this case the ps1 emu) and because even if they run, they'd either be soundless or with partial sound.Thanks to @ital for bringing this to my attention.
Games that didn't run (e.g. Prince of Persia series, PES 2014), now they do.
Would be great if it had PS1 compatibility in the future. There are a few that via Adrenaline don't play (e.g. Dukes of Hazzard, Zero Divide).
Loading games via the File Browser is a lot nicer than browsing thru a menu, imo.
Thanks to the dev.
Now, a total different beast would be running ARK from within the PS1 emulator of the Vita. Total possible but would require a native vita hack to patch out file IO limitations that Sony imposed after we hacked PS1 games in firmware 3.20, you get rid of those limitation, you can run ARK in PS1 mode and from there load any PS1 game you want.
I have great, nostalgic memories of the Vita 3.20 OFW which I installed ARK on it and then played PSP and PS1 games on it.
Come to think, I didn't even need to convert PS1 games to EBOOT. I loved that.
@theimporter
Try this method if you can. This shows all.
Do they have exclusive content?
Ong Bak is one of my favorite movies, but I think the UMD version uses the Western score which I just can't stand. The original score is so much better.
Try this method if you can. This shows all.
Do they have exclusive content?
Ong Bak is one of my favorite movies, but I think the UMD version uses the Western score which I just can't stand. The original score is so much better.
It shows all games.
I used to have the same issue where it'd only show most, not all (via Adrenaline on Vita).
Nope, not possible on Vita because UMD Movie playback relied on the Media Engine coprocessor of the PSP, which the Vita lacks. This is the same reason why we don't have sound in PS1 games when running them in PSP mode on the Vita.
The only alternative would be to code a custom homebrew UMD video player that uses the HLE versions of the MPEG decoders instead of direct ME access, similar to how the cusom launcher shows those miniature videos from the ISOs.
That's a lot of hard work though.
If I wanted to try that PS1 No Sound version, would I have to download an earlier build or what exactly?
I personally don't mind playing games without sound as I tend to listen to music elsewhere.
I personally don't mind playing games without sound as I tend to listen to music elsewhere.
ARK-4 never suported PS1 games on PS Vita.
I removed the feature as soon as I started working on the project.
Only ARK-2 and ARK-3 support that I'm afraid.
