The PSP and PS Vita homebrew scene has a fresh bit of movement to watch. After some quiet time, talk around PSP development is warming up again, and the next big steps are now centered on two familiar names: Adrenaline and ARK. Both projects are preparing major releases, with Adrenaline moving toward version 8 and ARK moving toward version 5.
There had already been rumors about large updates for both custom firmware projects, but the current direction makes the picture much clearer. These are not separate upgrades happening by chance. The people working on ARK and Adrenaline have been sharing ideas, code, and practical knowledge for a while, which explains why both projects are now advancing at the same time.
Shared Tools Behind the Work
One important part of the work is the move toward the newest PSP SDK, which is still being developed and maintained. For regular PSP software, that SDK is already important. For custom firmware work, though, extra pieces are needed, because developers also have to build plugins and the firmware components themselves.
That is where the custom firmware SDK comes in. In older days, this kind of extension was known as the M33SDK. It has since grown into psp-cfw-sdk, a package designed for PSP custom firmware development. It is now installed by default with the PSPSDK itself, making the setup cleaner for developers who want to work in this space.
Another major cleanup involves Pentazemin. This module was first created in ARK-4 as a compatibility layer so ARK could run under Adrenaline. It has now been moved into Adrenaline, which makes sense because Pentazemin was a lighter version of Adrenaline’s own SystemControl module. SystemControl is the core of the custom firmware, so bringing that code back into Adrenaline gives the shared work a more natural home.
Adrenaline Can Start ARK Directly
The connection between the two projects is also becoming easier for users. Adrenaline is now able to load ARK from the start, without needing outside loaders. A new option is being added to the Adrenaline settings menu so users can switch between EPI and ARK. EPI is short for Epinephrine, the main compound connected to adrenaline, and it is the new nickname for Adrenaline’s CEF, or Custom Emulated Firmware. That CEF is based on the older TN-CEF line.
The XMB, the classic PSP interface, is another area getting attention. Traditional custom firmware setups often used a VSH Menu, a custom menu opened with the Select button. That menu has stayed around for years with only smaller code changes, but it depends on software-based drawing, which limits what it can show and makes it feel dated beside the native PSP interface.
A better path was first shown through XMBControl, created by Total_Noob, now known as TheFl0w. Instead of placing a separate-looking menu over the system, XMBControl offered a more native way to add custom settings into the PSP’s XMB. With more work on that idea, the interface can feel less like an add-on and more like something that belongs inside the handheld’s own menus.
ARK-5 is also pushing the visual side further. Developer m-cid has worked out how to use hardware-accelerated drawing on top of the XMB, and that work has led to a 3D spinning cube demo. In ARK-5, this demo is included as a replacement for what used to be the VSH Menu, showing how much more flexible the XMB can become when custom firmware is allowed to draw graphics in a stronger way.
Because this is being built into the custom firmware itself, it should be fairly simple to expose an API that plugins can use. That could let future plugins draw graphics on the XMB through a simpler system, opening the door to cleaner interfaces and more visual tools without every plugin needing to solve the same hard problems from scratch.
The wider picture is a pleasant reminder that the PSP still has surprises left. Developers are still improving old limits and exploring new corners, from a plugin that aims to reduce game scanning times on the XMB, to ports of N64 games such as Perfect Dark and Ocarina of Time, to fresh work around the still-mysterious Media Engine and VME co-processor. For a handheld from another era, the PSP remains wonderfully busy.
