On the future of Rejuvenate

Since, the announcement ten days ago, Rejuvenate received tons of positive reception and thousands of downloads. Progress on both SDK projects is moving at fast speeds. There are already Vita homebrew projects in the works. No doubt, there are more to come. However, Sony’s response has not been positive. Yesterday, Sony released firmware 3.52 which revokes access to PSM DevAssistant and PSM Unity DevAssistant along with a friendly request for PSM developers to delete the DevAssistant from their devices. This means that if you ever want to run homebrew on your Vita, regardless of your opinions on the current limitations and regardless of your ability to use PSM, do NOT update to 3.52.

CHIP-8 emulator by @xerpi, picture by @Chihab_rm CHIP-8 emulator by @xerpi, picture by @Chihab_rm

PSM+

When I first announced the Rejuvenate hack, I promised a solution for people who do not have a publisher license (and therefore cannot generate keys needed to run the hack) which I dubbed PSM+. PSM+ requires the use of the filesystem writing trick discovered by mr.gas and Major_Tom and also requires materials to be hosted on a server. Therefore, I gave mr.gas, Major_Tom, and wololo the prerogative to release PSM+ at a time they deem fit. Please follow wololo.net for the release schedule. They will post instructions and provide support for PSM+ when the time comes.

Credits to egarrote from elotrolado.net for the logo! Credits to egarrote from elotrolado.net for the logo!

Rejuvenate

If you remember the original announcement, the hack came with quite a few limitations that made it less useful for the general audience. I have been working hard to try to address some of these issues, and I think I found a temporary solution to a few of them. I have confirmed earlier today that PlayStation®Mobile Development Assistant for Unity contains the same bug as the regular PSM DevAssistant application. That means it can be exploited to run UVLoader too. The Unity app is also a better solution for running homebrew.

  • It runs the debugger over Wifi, so after the initial setup over USB, it is possible (for example) to launch homebrew with a custom app on your smartphone, which is a step forward from being tethered to a computer.

  • For the same reason as above, the VitaTV can be supported. The only requirement is installing the files either with the same filesystem writing trick as PSM+ (which can be a hassle) or swapping the memory card into a PS Vita to install over USB (which can also be a hassle). Installation only needs to be done once though.

  • The application is DRM free which means that you can install it with the Package Installer or through a PS3 without needing any license. This means that even if you did not register for PSM and even if Sony removes the app from PSN, you can still install PSM for Unity.

Again, all of this will only be for those who are on firmware 3.51 and below! Do NOT update past 3.51 if you ever want a chance of running homebrew on your PS Vita or VitaTV.

It will be a bit of work to port VitaDefiler over to the Unity DevAssistant app. I have already started a branch of VitaDefiler that can connect to Unity DevAssistant and its debugger. However, more work is needed to work out the kinks in the debugger connection as well as finding the offsets to get UVLoader working. I will likely be busy with other things so I will not have time to work on PSM stuff for the next couple of months. However, I hope that someone else can pick up the source code and finish what I have started. I’m looking forward to seeing all the wonderful homebrew you guys make!

Comments

  1. brandon

    I didn’t download the unity version on my vita, is there going to be a way where I can get it or is it too late?

  15. Ubaid

    I have fw 3.51 on my vita and psm dev app in my backup, I cannot copy it as the Vita displays update message while I try to copy via CMA. Please Advise

  18. ubaid

    @liyan Vita displays”please update the system software” I installed Open Cma on my pc and then I opened the cma app on vita, then i tapped the copy content button, that’s when the message is displayed.

  19. BRK

    thx u man 4 ur hard work i was about to sell my ps vita luckily i have psm and the publisher license + my vita is version 3.51 cant wait 4 it to release

  21. Cheesus

    Hate to ask this in multiple places but, Yifan Lu! Do you know if the error message “Playstation Mobile developer’s license could not be confirmed” is an issue?

  25. Hey Guys I Really Need The New SDK+ Please…..I’ve Been Plugging away Developing But Now At A Standstill…Because Of The Restrictions On Getting It

  26. HithereJimHerald

    Do you know of anyone that can work on the Unity version?It seems like it could end up being very popular since lots of people couldn’t get the normal version.Besides that, it supports Unity so possibly (don’t know anything about this) people can make games like the VHBL Call of Duty Zombies.It never seemed that popular for developers but aren’t there advantages to having it vs not?

  31. Baktillus

    Thanks Yifan Lu for keeping the worl on rejuvenate going! Cant wait for the Unity hack, since i just got a vita (on 3.50 phew) and i’m already familiar with Unity :D

  36. Sadly i missed the boat, i dont have a vita yet, i’m looking at picking up a 3.51 console however, is there a way to make use of your work without access to the dev app, i have a jailbroken PS3 incase that helps, sorry i’m a nublet when it comes to the vita scene so i appreciate any advice you have to offer :)

  37. robotface

    i was in the same boat as cypherous1 but i got my ps vita and it updated before i realized what was needed to hack the system. hopefully one day there will be another way around the 3.52 version whether it be a firmware downgrade or just another way all together to put cfw on it. oh well for now i guess… :(

  38. For what its worth, i was able to install the PSM dev tools on 3.52 but they obviously wont run, but i shall leave them installed just incase something is discovered at a later date

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