@“p3ters”#p100527 My first vita hack was like 8 hours of work lol
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@“p3ters”#p100527 I guess the next thing to do is actually play some games on it lol.
did you install the PSP mode enabler? Watcha gonna use your vita for? If I still had a vita I would at least try Dragon Quest Builders haha
@"rejj"#p100553 one of the first things I did after hacking my dsi was turn off all but one of the three LEDs! how annoying it was having those shine in my face all the time!
I am going deep on my switch hacks now, this cloudy weather has me fully becoming a switch user again. Now that I have a better paying job I may as well start paying for a better mobile network where I can download 15-60gbs at a time properly.
all hacks have taken me far too long because i try to follow the mac instructions until i get really frustrated (because they never work) and just install a windows VM and then it's really simple
@“connrrr”#p100606 it's been a few years, I think much of that 8 hours was personal curation like I tend to always do. I tend to spend a long-ass time my first time hacking a console. Then once I have the “muscle” memory down, I start doing it for customers with the guide open. Then by my third or fourth custie, I can have in done in 30 minutes or less. Vita I only ever did once and it took a couple days total. That was 2016 when I was much less skilled. Probably would be about as involved as hacking a nintendo Switch.
If Skullator still exists on youtube, check out their videos for step by step vita installs
@“treefroggy”#p100626 I could be blocking out the pain involved lol. Like getting all the plugins I use to work took days but a lot of it is research, picking it up and tinkering a little at a time.
Then you come back to the scene after a couple years, see something that needs updating, and have to figure a lot of it out over again or risk undoing your forgotten hard work!!
@“Chopemon”#p100572 are you wanting to buy stuff off the store because you are a good person or just because that’s the easiest way to access something?
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@“copySave”#p100593 Just install NoNpDRM and ref00d with PluginManager2 then copy the game, patches, and DLC
so there were two reasons why I wanted to update my VITA, which already had Henkaku Enso installed from back in the days. One was I couldnt access the PSN store since there was a game I was really looking forward to buying for the system, Russian Subway Dogs. I saw it demo'd at Toronto Comics Art Festival and knew I wanted to buy it. When they announced the Vita shop was closing the devs were like "nah trust us, we'll be the last game released on the store before it closes down!" Now the store is still open at least, and the game finally came out :p I did get a PSN card today and was able to finally buy the game :)
second reason was coz I couldnt even play games that I had the carts for! When I would try to start up Rabi Ribi I always got an error message. Ultimately I was able to get over this with the NoDRM plugins or whatever, but of course now I just downloaded the game thru nefarious means since my cart slot is currently occupied by the great power!
so it's like what @connrrr said, when you hack your thing but let it just sit for years, you need to kinda relearn how it was hacked to begin with, how the hacked system even works, then pick it up from there. Compound this with all the hiccups I ran into, and it leads to me inquiring, complaining, ranting, and celebrating the whole endeavor :p
Does anyone have experience with those PS2 mods that let you load off a hd and connect to a modern tv? I‘ve discovered that PS1/2 seem to be my preferred taste in weird old games and I want to go through and actually play things like that Metal Gear sequence on original-ish hardware. But, I’m not sure what to look for/avoid.
@“deepspacefine”#p100700 I‘m sure someone will swoop in with first-hand experience before too long, but I’ve also been planning to kit my PS2 with a hard drive by following this video. It lays out every step clearly, the process seems pretty easy to do with hardly any hassle, and there are purchase links to all the different parts necessary in the description. As for the HDMI output – I haven‘t particularly kept an eye out for any tutorials on that, but I wouldn’t be surprised if this channel has a video for it as well!
@“Funbil”#p100701 As for the HDMI output – I haven’t particularly kept an eye out for any tutorials on that, but I wouldn’t be surprised if this channel has a video for it as well!
I just use component cables I bought off Amazon, and...OK, the quality isn't always that good, but I imagine that has more to do with the signal the PS2 outputs than with the cables themselves.
for using a HDD (or SSD or SD Card with proper adapters)
For using a PS2 with a modern TV, go with either a [RetroTink 2x-Pro or 5x](https://www.retrotink.com/product-page/retrotink-2x-pro), or an [OSSC](https://www.retrorgb.com/ossc.html)
The PS2 relies heavily on CRT technology so you need a scaler with a good de-interlacing solution to get the best image with the lowest possible input lag
@“deepspacefine”#p100700 Can‘t say anything about HDMI mods, that’s totally separate from HDD modding.
This guy has some of the best tutorials imho
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vsiqBJvhZ88
I love my PS2 setup. I got an OEM network adapter and soldered a SATA connector to it with a kit from aliexpress. Before that I had what's recommended to anyone who doesn't want to solder-- the gamestar sata hdd adapter, also found on aliexpress. The only difference is it doesn't have the network components. I may even still have mine if you need one I can mail it to you.
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@“Video Game King”#p100703 I just use component cables I bought off Amazon, and…OK, the quality isn’t always that good, but I imagine that has more to do with the signal the PS2 outputs than with the cables themselves.
you're probably talking about component into an HDTV. I use OEM sony playstation component cables and the signal is super clear on my PVM-like pro CRT monitor. If you want component-quality, I think hdretrovision sells component cables for playstation. 480i on a CRT is crisp depending on the game. FFX for example looks better than the HD remake imho.
I will also echo putting a HDD in a PS2 as a very good choice… For PS2 games on a CRT TV….
As stated above the system is basically built for 480i and occasionally 480p. There is really no way around this. You can sometimes force 480p via GSM which is built into OPL now, but it is pretty hit or miss.
Also the HDD doesn't really work with PS1 games natively as you need to use the POPStarter emulator within the PS2.
I will second some of the recommendations above. If you can't find the OEM Sony Component Cables, the HD retrovision ones are just as good. I have done the IDE to SATA conversion on the network adapters with the Bitfunx kit you can get on Ebay and it's pretty easy. I find it is VASTY more compatible with OPL than the after market SATA models.
The real future of things is eventually OPL should be able to load games off of networked storage so even PS2 slims can join the party. But if you've got the big boy, get a HDD in there.
Basically turns your Pi into a SMB server that can talk to a PS2. I’m thinking this will work with the OG Xbox as well since it uses Samba. Nice thing is you can easily un/plug in external USB drives into the pi, which makes swapping roms much faster relying on the FTP speeds of the old consoles, or removing the drive from a Phat PS2, plugging it into an IDE to USB adapter, etc, etc… Just unplug the external drive from the Pi and hook it up to a PC.
Plus you can use any USB drives. SD cards, solid state drives, USB flash drives. The DVD-rom data rate on a PS2 is only 5.28 MB/s while the ethernet speed is 12.5 MB/s, both are much slower than even USB 2.0 so again, most modern media should have no problems.
@“copySave”#p100784 I think what happened is Pi‘s became hard to get for awhile and thus I didn’t pursue this approach to test it out. I should see if I can get a Pi at a reasonable price nowadays. This would certainly help out some of my less techy friends
@“robinhoodie”#p100788 Yeah that‘s the tricky part. I bought several Pi 3’s at a Microcenter near me for $30 a pop from 2017-2019. Gave them to a bunch of friends and family as Christmas gifts. Kept 4 for myself to give to my wife and son, plus use for other projects like the PSX-Pi. Plus I have a Pi 4 and a 400.
My Microcenter occasionally get 4's for MSRP of $45 but they go instantly. For $25, the 3A+ is comparable to a 3B+ with half the RAM, but there is no Ethernet port, so you'd have to use a powered hub and an adapter. The Zero 2 W would possibly work too. But of course even the 3A+ and Zero 2 W are hard to get.
Maybe next year it won't be so hard to get a Pi 4 as they catch up on supply chain and general people stop caring about retro games again...
https://arstechnica.com/gadgets/2022/12/raspberry-pi-entering-a-recovery-year-no-pi-5-arriving-until-2024/
You laugh but I am figuring out the cables I need to I can iLink 4 PS2s together to play Unreal Tournament. And maybe something like this just to say I built it
https://i.redd.it/55wd3na8yp791.jpg