136w ago - Today SKFU has updated his blog (linked above) with a follow-up to his previous work and shared some new information and progress regarding PS3 custom firmware.

He was able to add several more working debug options to JailBroken retail PS3 consoles, such as Title Store preview in the network section.

To quote: "While the USB Loader by JaicraB has some trouble rebooting all correctly it seems for a final CFW we need to overwrite dev_flash instead just loading live from USB mass storage.

Some things you can already do for a nice working CFW:

1. Replace all in "/vsh/module + /sys/external + /sys/internal" with the content of a 3.41 debug dev_flash.

2. In "/vsh/resource/explore/xmb/category_game.xml" add this in the "view id=root" Items section

CLICK TO VIEW CODE

This will bring the "/app_home/GAME" and "Install PKG" options back.

3. In "/vsh/resource/explore/xmb/category_psn.xml" switch "root" and "tool_root".

This will add Title Store previews in the network section.

4. In "/sys/external" you grab liblv2dbg_for_dex from a debug unit and rename it liblv2dbg_for_cex....

168w ago - Today Emil Ayoubkhan of The Behemoth has shared a progress report on Castle Crashers for PlayStation Network, as follows:

I'm here today to talk about our new volleyball minigame that we will be including in our upcoming version of Castle Crashers, but before I get into that, let's talk about the release date.

This is pretty straightforward actually as we don't have one yet. We're looking to finish sometime this year and as soon as we can narrow it down to a specific month, we will be able to talk about this more.

Now back to the to volleyball minigame. Here are some of the finer points:

• Play co-op or vs your buddies
• Local or online play
• From 1-4 players per team for up to 8 player matches
• Variable stats based on character
• Use magic attacks to place 8 new magic status effects on the volleyball
• Cool new serving and spiking moves
• Available AI teammates or opponents
• Play as any character you have unlocked
• Play 1, 3 or 5 matches against your opponents
• Leaderboards to track the best in the land

It's basically like playing volleyball with your friends but you get to replace good sportsmanship with explosions, magic, and...

178w ago - We finally managed to obtain a fully operational Service Mode PlayStation 3 system, so PS3 Dev work is in progress. As it came a few days ago, we have not had too much time to play with it yet, but will soon!

We did some work on one from flurix a while back, but alas, the unit did not function fully. Luckily, this unit we got works perfectly.

For a little background, it is a CECHA00 unit, which makes it a 60gb Japaneese PS3 model, first generation - full of backwards compatability, card readers and WiFi!

It appears to be a returned unit, as it was packed in a CECHE box, and had a false CECHE serial on it. From what we know to date, the first thing that happens when a unit hits Sony is to be reset into PS3 Service Mode via the PS3 USB JIG.

After this, the serial number on the back is scanned. We assume at this point they realized it was false, and sent it back, not repaired. Since it was sent back, it was still, luckily, in Service Mode - letting us obtain of it!

Our project goal is to be...

223w ago - I'm following Ghostbusters: The Video Game closer than any human being should be and that I'm getting pretty good at spotting even the tiniest of changes.

Let's take today's New York Comic-Con demo as an example. I was handed the controller, the demo started up, and I immediately identified the level as one I wrote a great deal about on April 28, 2008.

This is the one where Ray and the recruit are battling through an architect's office, the Stay Puft Marshmallow Man shows up, and the boys duke it out with some pesky poltergeists on the roof. Good stuff, but something I've already seen.

However, it was immediately noticeable that the game looked better. Since Terminal Reality began showing off Ghostbusters, there have been some aliasing issues with the proton pack and new recruit's head - oftentimes it looks shimmery like a mosaic. Today, things looked markedly smoother and more realistic.

Now, this level makes use of the PKE Meter quite a bit, so when I whipped it out and the game dropped into first-person mode, I was surprised to find an overhauled point of view. Gone is the clear-goggle setup that basically spotted spectral trails out of thin air; in its place is a binocular-looking setup with a green tint and crosshairs...

243w ago - Thanks to Final Fantasy-XIII.net's Shuyu, there are scans (linked above) of an interview with Yoshinori Kitase and Shinji Hashimoto from the latest issue of Official Playstation Magazine Australia available.

From Final Fantasy-XIII.net:

"In the interview they reassure PlayStation 3 owners that their version of Final Fantasy XIII hasn't been delayed at all and that the Xbox 360 version won't even be started until the PS3 release is burned to Blu-ray.

As well as that, Kitase has given an update on the progress of development stating that the Scenario for Final Fantasy XIII is complete and the Artistic Side is 80% complete."