ARK, the Custom Firmware for PSP (compatible with both PSP/Vita) is now renamed ARK-X. This latest release by Acid_Snake introduces a new way to sideload PS1 games onto your PSP/PS Vita, making use of the official PS1 emulator embedded within the PSP OS.
What’s ARK for PSP/PS Vita
The PSP is one of the best homebrew devices. It had a striving community, and a lot of developers pushed it to its limit, in particular with emulators that achieved incredible performance for those days (ok, I won’t pretend it’s the best way to play emulators nowadays though, but it still works great for older generation consoles such as the NES, SNES, GBA…).
Running a Custom firmware on the PSP turned a decent console into an insane beast. And the same remains true on the PS Vita: As the Vita has a full fledged PSP emulator embedded, it is possible (and recommended!) to install a PSP Custom Firmware on the PS Vita.
That’s where ARK comes into play, being a custom firmware that works for both the PSP and the PS Vita. It comes with impressive features (from the readme):
Features:
-
Coresystem heavily updated from traditional CFW with new exclusive features. -
Inferno 2Driver compatible with all formats (ISO,CSO,ZSO,JSO,CSOv2andDAX). -
Popcorncontroller for customPS1games. Compatible withPopsLoaderV3 and V4i. -
Built-in
No-DRMengineStargate, fixes many anti-CFW games. Compatible withnpdrm_freeandnploader. -
Pluginsupport forPSPgames,PS1games andVSH(XMB), including the ability to enable and disable pluginsper-game. -
Region Freeplayback ofUMD Videoon all PSP models. Change the region of yourUMDdrive on-the-fly. -
Compatible with all
PSPmodels on firmwares6.60and6.61. -
Compatible with all
PS Vitamodels on firmware2.10up to3.74, either official firmware or viaAdrenaline. -
Compatible with
6.60Testing ToolFirmware andTestkitUnits. -
Compatible with
6.60Development ToolFirmware andDevkitUnits. -
Can be fully installed and booted on memory stick in compatible models via
Time Machine. -
Can be used to unbrick compatible PSP models using
Despertar del Cementerioin combination with aPandoraorBaryon Sweeper. -
Minimalistic: only 6 files installed on PSP flash, CFW extensions are installed on memory stick. -
Resistant to
soft-bricks, easy to recover from bad configurations with a new and improvedRecoveryapp. -
Custom game launcherwith built-in game categories, file browser,FTPserver and client, modernized look and more. -
Fully configurable via the
XMB. -
Compatible with
PRO OnlineandXlink Kai. -
Compatible with Legacy Homebrew via
eLoaderandLeda. Compatible with the KXploit format. -
Compatible with
cIPLandInfinity 2bootloaders for permanent CFW. -
OTAupdates. Fully updateable via the internet.
What’s new in ARK 4.20.68 (ARK-X)
This release in particular introduces a new way to sideload PS1 Games. From the changelog:
History
On earlier PS Vita firmware versions (as late as 3.18/3.20) it was possible to exploit
PS1games via crafted savedata, in pretty much the same way thatVHBLand earlierARKversions would use exploitedPSPgames.Using this crafted
PS1savedata it was possible to load a minimalistPSP Custom Firmarewith the only goal to sideloadPS1games (i.e.TN-XandARK-3).This worked because the PS Vita doesn’t really have its own PS1 emulator, it rather used a modified version of the PS1 emulator for PSP, with sound processing being handled by the native Vita (since the PS Vita lacks the PSP’s ME coprocessor that the original POPS used for audio emulation). PS1 games on the PS Vita are ultimately running on a PSP environment, albeit a heavily limited one.
PS1 CFW on Later Firmwares
On later firmware versions the PS1 emulator was limited even more to prevent us from running a CFW in it, however with Henkaku now bieng both a reality and a common software, it has been possible to code a simple plugin to bring back
PS1 CFWfunctionality, namedps1cfw_enabler.With this new plugin, it is now possible to load ´ARK´ in
ePSXmode once again, and use it to load custom PS1 games using the Official PS1 Emulator of the PS Vita.From a user perspective,
ARK-Xfunctions essentially the same as a regularStandalone ARKinstallation, with the main difference of it being primarily focused onPS1games.Instructions for installation can be found in the readme.
Credits:
qwikrazor87andAcid_Snakefor the original discovery and implementation ofPS1 exploitsonPSP/Vita.thefl0wfor his implementation ofTN-X PS1CFWwhich served as a base forARK-X.SilicaAndPinafor her work onChovySignandps1cfw_enablerthat allowed this release to exist.
Other changes in this version include:
-
Rev 4
- Fixed bug in
FasterARKthat would corrupt taiHEN config.
Rev 3
cwcheatnow displays correctly inARK-X.
Rev 2
ARK-Xinstallation is now handled byFasterARK, making it considerably easier to install and use.- Added patch to prevent crashing in TwinBee Portable when the system language is not set to Japanese or English.
- Lots of code cleanup.
- Fixed bug in
Download and install ARK for PSP/PS Vita
To get Ark 4V20.68, go to this specific release.
Alternatively, if you want the latest and greatest (automated builds with each commit), head over to the release section of the developer’s github to get the latest release.
Installation instructions in the readme.
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