Hacking [Release] ARK-4 CFW port for PSP.

[JaegerFox]

I thought those menus (which have the settings like skip game boot, change driver FTP, etc.) in PS Vita's ARK-4 were only accessible after running ARK Loader in the PSP.

because you dont have installed infinity so you are using temporal CFW like the LME or PRO before the infinity patch

 

[Windows_10_User]

because you dont have installed infinity so you are using temporal CFW like the LME or PRO before the infinity patch

So, will PS Vita's ARK-4 settings appear in the Recovery Menu? If so, it doesn't make much sense since it's still harder to access it since those settings can't be set from the XMB.

Also, it doesn't make sense PSP's ARK-4's Custom Launcher and PS Vita's ARK-4 having a Recovery Menu icon like it was a game or homebrew instead of a setting.

 

[JaegerFox]

So, if using Infinity, ARK-4's settings that show up in PS Vita will show up in the VSH menu (inside the Recovery Menu setting)? If so, it doesn't make much sense since one still has to manually access it and can't use its settings from XMB.

Also, it doesn't make much sense PSP's and PS Vita's ARK-4 having a Recovery Menu icon like it was game or homebrew instead of being a setting inside a menu.

I have said it several times, you do not pay attention to read, all CFW have a vsh menu to access the recovery menu or the launcher,
if you want to use it although in PSP it doesn't make sense because it is slower than the XMB, and also this launcher has an option to hide the recovery menu .... think or see the different options before talking nonsense.

 

[Windows_10_User]

I have said it several times, you do not pay attention to read, all CFW have a vsh menu to access the recovery menu or the launcher,
if you want to use it although in PSP it doesn't make sense because it is slower than the XMB, and also this launcher has an option to hide the recovery menu .... think or see the different options before talking nonsense.

It didn't have before and in ARK-4's GitHub repository's README.md it wasn't said a PSN game had to be installed to make standalone ARK-4 work on the PS Vita before I complained. Also, just because all CFW have a VSH MENU, it doesn't mean ARK-4 has to have one as well, not to mention I didn't say I wanted it removed. I just wanted to be easier to access the Recovery Menu or its settings (like from the XMB) and just because it can only be accessed from the VSH MENU in all CFW, it doesn't mean it has to be the same in ARK-4.

Anyway, what I wanted was for the "OverClock", "PowerSave", "Balanced Energy Mode", etc., settings to appear in the VSH MENU and to be able to access the Custom Launcher in it.

 

[JaegerFox]

It didn't have before and in GitHub it wasn't mentioned one had to install a PSN game to make ARK-4 work in the PS Vita before I complained.

again with that.... in the github said install with ArkFast.. but I won't write to you anymore... you want everything to be perfect at the first moment...

 

[Windows_10_User]

again with that.... in the github said install with ArkFast.. but I won't write to you anymore... you want everything to be perfect at the first moment...

Like I said many times, I did use FastARK like it's told in ARK-4's GitHub repository's README.md but a PSN game is installed by it (I guess it's because it didn't detect a PSN installed one) before installing ARK-4 and that wasn't explained there. I even told you the game's name (Sasuke vs. Commander), that I've never heard of it, that it seems was a PS minis game and that I was greeted with a message from a mexican user during the game install.

It's not my fault you don't recall what I told you many times and then for you and other users I'm the only one which has bad memory (I admit I do but that doesn't explain everything like everyone can see in this and in those compatibility issues with PSP ISOs cases) or that doesn't read the instructions when it was precisely because of me a missing step was added to them.

What's the matter of "wanting everything to be perfect at the first moment"? I guess everyone does because what would be the point of installing something that didn't work right or it did but just after the 10th time?

 

[Acid_Snake]

@Windows_10_User I think the best way for you to have all your questions answered is if you actually go ahead and install the CFW so you can see for yourself how it works.

As for PS1 games, they are not working on PS Vita for two reasons:

- The current ARK bootloaders are running on the PSP emulator of the Vita, which lacks any PS1 emulation. I don't want to include Sony files in ARK to make it fully open source and free from copyrighted material, also because the PS1 emulator for PSP on Vita doesn't have any sound.

To have fully working PS1 support we would need to make use of the actual Vita's PS1 emulator, which is actually the PSP emulator with some modifications to have it run the PSP's PS1 emulator (with sound processing done by Vita), but:

- There are currently no bootloaders to run ARK within the PS1 emulator of the Vita. There used to be an exploit way back in firmware 3.20 to let you run CFW inside PS1 emulators and thus would give you 100% fully working PS1 support (TN-X and ARK-3, ARK-4 inherits this and thus can work with it), but this was patched long ago and there hasn't been any native vita plugin to bring it back, except for Adrenaline itself.

 

[Windows_10_User]

@Windows_10_User I think the best way for you to have all your questions answered is if you actually go ahead and install the CFW so you can see for yourself how it works.

As for PS1 games, they are not working on PS Vita for two reasons:

- The current ARK bootloaders are running on the PSP emulator of the Vita, which lacks any PS1 emulation. I don't want to include Sony files in ARK to make it fully open source and free from copyrighted material, also because the PS1 emulator for PSP on Vita doesn't have any sound.

To have fully working PS1 support we would need to make use of the actual Vita's PS1 emulator, which is actually the PSP emulator with some modifications to have it run the PSP's PS1 emulator (with sound processing done by Vita), but:

- There are currently no bootloaders to run ARK within the PS1 emulator of the Vita. There used to be an exploit way back in firmware 3.20 to let you run CFW inside PS1 emulators and thus would give you 100% fully working PS1 support (TN-X and ARK-3, ARK-4 inherits this and thus can work with it), but this was patched long ago and there hasn't been any native vita plugin to bring it back, except for Adrenaline itself.

I already saw some YouTube videos and installed ARK-4 on my PSP, PS Vita and PS TV (didn't you read what I just said?) but since my PSP's microSD card adapter is broken I can only test it in the PS Vita at the moment.

Thanks, but I said I wasn't interested in playing PS1 games on the PS Vita.

 

[Acid_Snake]

I already saw some YouTube videos but since my PSP's microSD card is broke I can only test it in the PS Vita.

Thanks, but I said I wasn't interested playing PS1 games in the PS Vita.

ah ok then you shouldn't have any issues then. I don't know what videos you've seen, there aren't many ARK-4 videos online, most of them are from ARK-2, though some of them are still valid for a Vita installation (the ones for 3.60 mainly), you would only need to update from ARK-2 to ARK-4.

 

[Windows_10_User]

ah ok then you shouldn't have any issues then. I don't know what videos you've seen, there aren't many ARK-4 videos online, most of them are from ARK-2, though some of them are still valid for a Vita installation (the ones for 3.60 mainly), you would only need to update from ARK-2 to ARK-4.

Yes, that's the problem, though the video I watched is in my native language and is from last month. Its quality isn't great and it's somewhat confusing, hence my questions. Also, the video was uploaded some time after asking the first questions regarding ARK-4 and at the time I wasn't even talking about PSP's ARK-4 but PS Vita's standalone and the video is about the PSP's.

 

[Acid_Snake]

Yes, that's the problem, even though the video I watched is in my native language and is from last month but the quality isn't great and it's somewhat confusing, hence my questions. Also, the video was uploaded some time after asking the first questions regarding ARK-4 and at that time I wasn't even talking about PSP's ARK-4 but PS Vita's and the video is about the PSP's.

Ah so you've probably seen Venao's video (HardLevel), yeah he got to make only one video for now but he'll probably make more.

 

[Windows_10_User]

Ah so you've probably seen Venao's video (HardLevel), yeah he got to make only one video for now but he'll probably make more.

Yes, he makes a lot of videos regarding homebrew. Do you know if it's the only or the best video concerning ARK-4?

By the way, I don't get it why PSX-Place quoted one of his OPL videos in which he uses a version from PS2-Home when I was told many times there to not use that version.

 

[Acid_Snake]

Yes, he does a lot of videos regarding homebrew. Do you know if it's the only or the best video regarding ARK-4?

By the way, I don't get it why PSX-Place quoted one of his OPL videos in which he uses a version from PS2-HOME when I was told many times by its users to not use PS2-HOME's OPL versions.

As far as I know it's so far the only video in portuguese and probably the only video in general, and probably the best one too. I know Venao and he's a good guy, makes very professional videos.

As for the whole ordeal between OPL versions, just stick to the official build since it's the real one cooked by the most knowledgeable devs in the PS2 scene (and trust me, that scene is full of talented and knowledgeable devs), the other one is just a glorified skin made by a script kiddie that wanted to look cool using the hard work that other giants had done before him.

 

[Windows_10_User]

As far as I know it's so far the only video in portuguese and probably the only video in general, and probably the best one too. I know Venao and he's a good guy, makes very professional videos.

As for the whole ordeal between OPL versions, just stick to the official build since it's the real one cooked by the most knowledgeable devs in the PS2 scene (and trust me, that scene is full of talented and knowledgeable devs), the other one is just a glorified skin made by a script kiddie that wanted to look cool using the hard work that other giants had done before him.

The official OPL's GitHub repository says anyone can contribute improvements to OPL due to its open-source nature so how did PS2-Home steal the project? Anyway, I sticked to the official OPL version but I don't know why PSX-Place's tutorials mention OPL Daily Build versions since its users say to use the official OPL Beta version and unfortunately I can't play PS1 games on it (I can on OPL Daily Build versions but only via USB and not SMB, which is what I wanted) because it doesn't have the "PS1" tab and it seems no one is able to help me run them.

EDIT: According to what I was told, PS1 games don't slow down on POPStarter via USB or only do a bit. Allegedly, it's possible to run POPStarter on the latest official OPL Beta versions via USB from the "APPS" tab but I was told a 2.5" external HDD shouldn't be connected to a single PS2 USB port since the PS2 mightn't provide enough energy to power it. An USB flash drive, a self-powered external HDD (a 3.5" one), an USB-powered external one (a 2.5" external HDD) connected to both PS2 USB ports via an USB Y-cable or a 2.5" external HDD connected to the PS2 via a self-powered USB hub could be used but since I want to host all the PS1 and PS2 games in the same device, I want it to be an external HDD (and a 2.5" one, since it's smaller than a 3.5" one and doesn't connect to a socket) because I was told it lasts longer than an USB flash drive, I don't want to waste an extra socket and I don't want to use an USB Y-cable or a self-powered USB hub, I'll play PS1 games on the PS3 even if I get POPStarter running via SMB (and in an official OPL version) because it's also easier for me, it appears the PS3 is more compatible with them than the PS2 and PS1 games don't slow down on the PS3 (or at less than on POPStarter via USB on the PS2, at least), so I won't waste more time trying to run POPStarter at all. Also, I only tried running POPStarter on wLE.

EDIT 2: Now, PS2-Home is redirecting to the official OPL GitHub repository when downloading the latest OPL Beta version instead of downloading their former Daily Build and ifcaro versions and they stopped releasing the latter. Apparently, I had bad luck to access PS2-Home at the time. Also, the official OPL's GitHub repository says anyone can contribute improvements to OPL due to its open-source nature so how did PS2-Home steal the project like I was told at PSX-Place?

EDIT 3: A GitHub user (grimdoomer) released OPL versions which support larger than 2 TB exFAT internal HDDs/SSDs/SSHDs and multi-BDM devices. Didn't he steal the project like PS2-Home, then? The internal HDDs/SSDs/SSHDs have to be formatted on the PC as GPT and exFAT to work in this version. The official OPL versions only support the APA partition table and wLE can format the internal HDD/SSD/SHD to it (and the file system they get is PFS, which is a proprietary file system used by Sony).

 

[Windows_10_User]

As far as I know it's so far the only video in portuguese and probably the only video in general, and probably the best one too. I know Venao and he's a good guy, makes very professional videos.

As for the whole ordeal between OPL versions, just stick to the official build since it's the real one cooked by the most knowledgeable devs in the PS2 scene (and trust me, that scene is full of talented and knowledgeable devs), the other one is just a glorified skin made by a script kiddie that wanted to look cool using the hard work that other giants had done before him.

Could you add an updater to ARK-4?

 

[xFlesk]

is it possible to somehow fake the region of the console ? i want to hide Extras icon in vsh and it is only possible when console region is set as russia or debug.

 

[Acid_Snake]

is it possible to somehow fake the region of the console ? i want to hide Extras icon in vsh and it is only possible when console region is set as russia or debug.

There's an option in the recovery menu to do that.

 

[xFlesk]

There's an option in the recovery menu to do that.

thank you for answer but there is japan, eu and us only. to get rid of extras "folder" console must be set to russia or debug region.

 

[Acid_Snake]

thank you for answer but there is japan, eu and us only. to get rid of extras "folder" console must be set to russia or debug region.

All of them set it to debug region.

 

[xFlesk]

All of them set it to debug region.

ok, you win silly me, i should have try them before crying. sorry for that