It has only been a couple of weeks ago when we first featured Techni's iPod Solitaire clone for the PSP. No introductions and instructions are needed when it's about Solitaire, so we would skip that part. Anyway, Techni informed us that he has released a new version of this homebrew game and from the looks of it, it sure looks like his Solitaire clone is coming along nicely.

He mentioned that in this new release, custom soundtracks have improved a lot. Plus, it now supports previous/next track, the PSP remote, and browsing subdirectories among other added features. And Techni isn't stopping there because he plans on adding an M3U playlist support and ID3 tags in the future releases of this game. You could also give him your suggestions on what you would like to see in the next release through the comments section.

And in parting, the dev wishes to thank Exophase, Yeldarb2k3, PDGB and Psilocybeing for helping him get into PSP programming. It's nice to see homebrew devs not hesitating to lend a hand and share their skills to aspiring devs. Keep up the great job, Techni! We hope to hear from you soon!

Download: [Updated version of iPod Solitaire clone]

You may have heard of homebrew developer, Insomniac197. Well, if you aren't familiar with the guy, he is the one who is venturing on a homebrew project called AniMate -- which is basically Tamagotchi for the PSP, but the only difference is that instead of just feeding or playing with your virtual pet, it will have built in mini-game's action to make for a more dynamic experience. So far, that game is still in development, so instead, we focus on another Insomniac197 creation.

Recently, the developer released in our forums the Fontloader, a simple interface for making use of the freetype2 library. If freetype2 library sounds like something that could make you sleep in a jiffy, well let us give you some info about it. freetype2 is a software font engine that is designed to be small, efficient, highly customizable, and portable while capable of producing high-quality output. It can be used in graphics libraries, display servers, font conversion tools, text image generation tools, and many other products as well, including homebrews.

So if the freetype2 library already exists, what is this app for? Well, learning to use the freetype library can be very confusing. Apps such as Insomniac197's Fontloader makes the utilization of the freetype2 library easier. So if you want to use a specific font for a homebrew game or app you are working on, apps like this one would be a great help to you. So with that aptly stated, here are some of its features:

-- Supports multiple fonts
-- Smooth anti-aliased font appearance
-- Fonts cached for faster access

For his future plans about this app, Insomniac197 said that "in the 'Samples' directory within this archive there is example code on how to integrate Fontloader. Currently there is only an example using Psilocybeing's graphic library, but I intend to create examples for GU and possibly even PSPGL." The good developer would also like to thank Samstag for flib and inspiring him to create this app and to Shine because, according to the dev, "the code in Fontloader is based heavily on the freetype2 implementation in LuaPlayer so 99% of the credit for Fontloader should go to him."

Download: [Fontloader]
Discuss: [Forum Release Thread]

Arwin is back in the saddle again! If you don't remember who he is, he is the guy responsible for the P-Sprint for the PSP which is a keyboard emulator for the PSP. This app has been very useful and has been utilized by darkshadow 88 in his app, the PSPSchedule. P-Sprint was also utilized by Danzel's Peldet app and by the pIRC created by Psilocybeing. But it seems that Arwin is way past that project and is doing something more challenging now.

In fact, Arwin is now dabbling on something called Project 3D Text/ PSPGL. According to him, "I want to learn how to do 3D programming, I thought I would start with something that could be useful for other stuff later on, and is fun to do - build a low-poly text renderer...." So far, he was able to come up with a rough code -- a sample PSPGL targeting main.c which, according to him, was heavily borrowed from the ported NeHe sample lesson 6 (right thumbprint).

Although, for now, some of the products of his talents are just works-in-progress, you could help him hone his craft and application with your constructive criticisms, observations, and suggestions which you can convey through your comments.

Download: [Arwin's Project 3D Text (Gltextlight)]