For today's special, we're announcing not one, not two, but three Custom PlayStation Portable (PSP) XMB themes for your customizing pleasure. Identifying them from left to right (see screenshots above): SchmilK's "Skull Wave" xmbWave theme, Dantheman29's "Full Grunge Set", and PSPCulture's "KDE Buff" custom themes.

Going into more detail, SchmilK's xmbWave theme above is actually a revised version of his original Skull Wave edit - this particular wave animation is patterned after the Punisher's skull, with future updates possibly including a Gears of War wave theme - any room for a flame theme there (Johnny Blaze approves)? The developers would also like to give credit to whomever made the battery, volume, and icons. This wave theme was tested using PSP custom firmware 3.03 OE-C.

The second theme comes in from homebrew developer Dantheman29, and as the homebrew application's name implies, is a Grunge theme for your PSP's XMB browser. We like the gritty (dare we say macho?) looks it gives our interface, although it does remind us of the Resistance: Fall of Man toolbar. Then again, it's just us. The pack contains the XMB, font, and battery icons.

The third Custom PSP theme is by PSPCulture, who just recently released the Duranium PSP theme. The KDE Buuf theme carries some bright, easy-to-spot icons for your usage, and on a strange note, uses a Sega Dreamcast controller icon for its Games menu. Nothing too out of the ordinary, but we thought it looked cute. Fonts based on (with permission) Innercy.

The full installation instructions and other important notes await in the bundle READMEs. We also encourage the readers to drop off over each custom theme's development thread over at the QJ.NET Forums in case they're looking for more details and updates. Enjoy your download!

Download: "Skull Wave" Custom PSP wave
Download: "Full Grunge Set" Custom PSP theme
Download: "KDE Buuf" Custom PSP theme

Visit: "Skull Wave" at PSP Development Forum
Visit: "Full Grunge Set" at PSP Development Forum
Visit: "KDE Buuf" at PSP Development Forum

While we like do-it-all packs, it sometimes pays to be more task-specific. Johny 5 over at the forums is letting everybody know about his new johny5_flash application/homebrew pack. And as the name says, this PC-based application allows users to handle flash-related tasks on their PSP in a jiffy. Going into specifics, here's what it can do:

• Merge your 12 bmps
• Flash bmp
• Flash topmenu created by this xmb icon maker
• Flash XMBWave (system_plugin_bg.rco)
• Flash different fonts
• Flash gameboot.pmf
• Flash location free player

Now, in case you're wondering why it's labelled as a pack, the bundle also includes other essential apps that you'll need for customizing your PSP - Johny 5 gives full credits to the corresponding developers behind these applications:

• kgsws xmb icon maker
• XMBWave, Credits:Kgsws, DarkStone,vb_master!
• TGAWave, Credits: DarkStone, vb_master, autopopstation4, Y.F. Gamzun, nicinico, Al-Zamli

Just remember to stay away from the XMB_BATTERY and COLDBOOT functions - they're reportedly bugged, and should be fixed by v0.2. We strongly advise a viewing of the bundle's README(s) to know how to run these applications properly. Lastly, be reminded that johny5_flash BETA v0.1 is built to run specifically on custom firmware 3.03 OE-C and above - you have been warned. Enjoy the download, and remember to visit the forums for further details.

The rest of the features and the included apps in the article's full version.

Download: Johny5 Flasher BETA v0.1
Visit: PSP Development Forum

And so the XMB hacking continues. We won't even try to enumerate the numerous homebrew apps we've garnered that tinker and customize your XMBs because, well, there's just too damn many of them! Not that we're complaining or anything, in fact we stand by that old adage that goes "There's no such thing as too many XMB hacks."

Yeah okay, I just made that up. But it's true, isn't it? No matter how many similar apps we already have, new ones are always more than welcome...like Nielkie's WavePool, which we got right here. And as he promised, the app now has a Windows version, with the Mac one still in the works.

So. What's new in this version? It now supports extraction of texture and it doesn't use scripts for file I/O. Included in his to-do list for the next release is to add a file index and improve the wave speed. Nielkie says he's almost done with those things so we can also expect a v0.3 release pretty soon.

A few more notes on the Linux version though, you're gonna gonna need Qt 4 and WINE in order to run the app. Got that? Good. Then download the file/s now and make sure you check out the readme, alright?

Download: [WavePool v0.2 Windows]
Download: [WavePool v0.2 Linux]
Download: [WavePool v0.2 Source Code]
Discuss: [Forum Release Thread]

Nielkie over at our boards is letting everybody know that his WavePool homebrew application has just been released. This program, much like some of the other XMBwave-based apps like tgaWave, allows users to customize the wave effect of the PSP XMB.

What makes this app unique is that it's built to run on a Linux OS, with a Mac workable version in the works and an eventual Windows release.

Given the rather limited (albeit well-made) number of custom applications we've encountered, we're sure the guys here will appreciate this app.

As for expected tweaks in the next version:

• Extract texture's from a system_plugin_bg.
• Write file size index (So no file size limit)

Lastly, Nielkie is letting the guys know this app requires WINE to run (not the alcoholic drink). We advise would-be downloaders to view the README in the bundle - it may contain pointers beneficial for using this app. Once again, we thank Nielkie for the effort.

And readers, you might want to check out the other convenient PSP customizing tools available.

Download: [WavePool v.01: GUI xmbWave texture injector]
Dicuss: [Forum Release Thread]

 

Customizing a PSP may be fun, but it's admittedly tricky with all that fiddly coding required. Now, if you've been reading up on Vulpix's tgaWave Custom Wave Texture Injector, but don't have the technical finesse to run it, this latest update makes his latest XMBwave editor app even easier to use:

Instructions for use
------------------------------
!!!!NO MORE HEX EDITING REQUIRED!!!! [<---Yup, that's why]

1. Read the tutorial by Al-Zamli from QJ.NET forums (2 mirrors), you can read it at: http://pspjunk.org/tgawavetut/index.html OR http://vbmaster.portablesofdoom.org/tgawavetut/index.html
2. Open your TGA in Photoshop/GIMP/etc. Edit to your satisfaction (but make sure you read the tutorial first!)
3. Save it exactly how the tutorial says (Indexed Color, Local (selective), 32 (or less) colors, Black and White with Transparency, and Diffusion.) You can now save the TGA as any name you wish.
4. Run start.bat. It will guide you through the rco creation process. Specify the TGA you would like to inject and relax as it does the rest (no more hex editing required)
5. Put system_plugin_bg.rco that was created in /vsh/resource/
6. Done!
   

As always, be sure to view the README for extra details (such as the team that helped put this together).

We also highly recommend a visit to the forum boards - they've been cranking out some beautiful work using this and his previous apps, which may give you ideas on how you can customize your PSP.

Download: [tgaWave Custom Wave Texture Injector v0.7]
Discuss: [Forum Release Thread]

 

For the guys hoping for an update for Vulpix's xmbWave - the cool app that allows you to customize your PSP XMB browser's waves -  look the other way. However, if you're a newcomer to the PSP developer scene and are hoping for a step-by-step tutorial on how to get this app cracking (the readme was admittedly scant on details), come on over.

Homebrew dev sepreath has just posted a guide which should serve as a primer for first-time brew meisters. The guide includes a list of things you will need, and some important values to keep track of so you won't end up breaking the waves. For starters, here's what you need:

• XMBWave editor (Downloadable below)
  
• Common sense
• Hopefully some hex skills
• A hex editor (Hex Workshop comes to mind)
  

As for the first few steps, and the the wave values:

[1.1]
So first off copy your original system_plugin_bg.rco from you PSP and back it up to your
computer. It is found in Flash0:/vsh/resource. Also backup the system_plugin_bg_deflate.bin
that cam with the XMBWave package. It'll save you some headaches later on!

[1.2]
The offsets that I know of, in decimal, are:
528 => 946 controls the shape of the wave, very easily ruined! Or made crazy.
7653 => 7766 appears to control the color and contrast of the waves.
7767 => 7841 => controls the colour of the waves.

We're hoping this guide provides you with a basic understanding of how xmbWave works. Make sure to check out the full walkthrough sepreath set up (Read link). Who knows, the tutorial might inspire the readers to cook up some interesting offshoots of xmbWave. We thank the man for the effort - a lot of noobs here are grateful.

Download: [xmbWave]

Yes folks, that screenshot above is real. It was created through an app made by Sulpher Dragon, and is based off of xmbWave, which creates randomized waves for your cross menu bar everytime you access it.

According to the information on the readme, it edits the system_plugin_bg_deflate.bin, randomising values between decimal offsets of 464 and 948. In this case, that means that your PSP will come up with a different set of squiggly lines almost every time. Definitely nifty for those folks who want to get a surprise from their handheld every so often.

As always, please check the readme. The readme outlines multiple ways of installing the program for ease of use, depending on whether you have custom firmware or not, so you'll definitely want to check that out. In the meantime, download it, or ask about it on the forums.

Download: [Wave Attack]
Discuss: [Forum Release Thread]

 

Right after the release of Vulpix's xmbWave comes a new wave editor that edits your coldboot waves. Ladies and gents, DarkStone, vb_master, and Team LANSH are proud to present bootWAVE.

Much like xmbWave, what this does is edit the opening_plugin.rco so you can change the look and style of your opening waves. Its uses are purely aesthetic, but combined with the aforementioned wave editor, you can really change the look of your PSP to suit your tastes.

Just remember to read the readme. The instructions there will keep you from killing the wave itself (we hope), so have fun, but don't go overboard on the edits, ok?

By the way folks, the image above is from Superskull85. Thanks for putting it up, or we wouldn't know what to use as a pretty picture.

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

 

Thanks to a tip from aDcOoL, we heard about this nifty new app that allows people to hack the wave on the XMB background. It's called xmbWave, and it's made by Vulpix.

xmbWave is basically a simplified hex editing tool that alters the wave on your background, and as easy as the app is to learn, it's a tough one to become an artist. As you can see from the above picture from one of Darkstone's creations, finding a balance between going nuts in changing the values and knowing when to stop will serve users well in creating their own unique waves. It's probably the closest thing to a visual "fingerprint" you'll have on your PSP, seeing as two original creations will rarely be alike after editing.

Combined with icon makers and uploaders, as well as background manufacturers, this will really spruce up your PSP into something uniquely you.

Before anything else though, Vulpix wants to remind folks to check the readme and to not alter the values too much, as you could make the wave effect disappear entirely. Make sure you have a copy of the original starting values, just in case you do something very weird.

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