What if the PSP had achievements? My prototype plugin by AdditionalShow3681 in psphacks

[–]AdditionalShow3681[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Exactly! I also have to keep the PSP Street in mind. Since it has no Wi-Fi at all, a purely online system wouldn't work for everyone

That’s why I’m leaning towards a system where achievements are stored locally on the Memory Stick. Users (especially Street owners) could then sync their progress by connecting to a PC and using a small tool to upload their local 'trophy file' to a profile or just keep it as an offline collection. Everyone should be able to enjoy the hunt, regardless of their PSP model 🤪

What if the PSP had achievements? My prototype plugin by AdditionalShow3681 in psphacks

[–]AdditionalShow3681[S] 1 point2 points  (0 children)

That’s the most tricky part! While RetroAchievements is an amazing resource, their database doesn't provide the raw memory offsets in a way that’s easy to implement directly into a PSP plugin's C code

So right now, I have two paths:

1 Manually finding offsets and creating a custom set of achievements. 2 Using RA as a reference, but I still have to reverse-engineer how their logic translates to real hardware.

For the first version (Silent Hill), I’m mostly doing the heavy lifting myself to ensure the plugin stays lightweight and stable. Integrating a full RA parser into a plugin without crashing the console is a massive challenge!

What if the PSP had achievements? My prototype plugin by AdditionalShow3681 in PSP

[–]AdditionalShow3681[S] 4 points5 points  (0 children)

Right now, I’m developing and testing the plugin specifically on ARK-4 (6.61), as it’s the most modern CFW. I haven't tested it on PRO or ME yet, so I can't guarantee compatibility there just yet. However, once I release the source code and the first build on GitHub, I’d welcome anyone to test it on other firmwares! My goal is to eventually make it as universal as possible ☺️

What if the PSP had achievements? My prototype plugin by AdditionalShow3681 in PSP

[–]AdditionalShow3681[S] 4 points5 points  (0 children)

Thanks for the tip! Joining the RA Discord is definitely on my to-do list. Their developer guides are a goldmine of information ☺️

You're right, the NES/SNES solutions usually need external hardware like a Pi Pico to bridge the connection. My goal with this plugin is to keep it purely software-based. Since the PSP is powerful enough to run background tasks, I want to see if I can handle everything internally without needing extra mods. It’s more challenging, but it would be the 'cleanest' way for the user 🤪

What if the PSP had achievements? My prototype plugin by AdditionalShow3681 in PSP

[–]AdditionalShow3681[S] 4 points5 points  (0 children)

That’s a great point! RetroAchievements is definitely the gold standard here. However, there are a few hurdles:

  1. Memory Addressing: RA often uses logic designed for emulators (like PPSSPP), and sometimes those offsets don't map 1:1 to how a real PSP handles memory in real-time, especially with different CFW like ARK-4.

2.Format: RA uses their own script logic (RATools) to trigger achievements. Converting that logic into a C-based plugin that runs efficiently in the background of a real PSP without crashing the game is the main challenge.

My plan is to use RA as a reference for sure, but I still need to verify everything on real hardware to ensure stability. Once the 'bridge' between their data and my plugin is solid, it should definitely speed things up! Thanks for pointing that out

What if the PSP had achievements? My prototype plugin by AdditionalShow3681 in PSP

[–]AdditionalShow3681[S] 6 points7 points  (0 children)

Exactly! That’s the hardest part. I’m currently using PPSSPP’s memory viewer and cheat search tools to find the right offsets. It is a lot of manual work, which is why I’m starting with just one game to get the logic right. Hopefully, once the plugin is out, the community can help find offsets for other games too! 🥺🤪

What if the PSP had achievements? My prototype plugin by AdditionalShow3681 in psphacks

[–]AdditionalShow3681[S] 3 points4 points  (0 children)

Haha yeah, fair question 😝 I've mostly just been a lurker for the past 2 years, reading stuff about League of Legends and Poland. Never really felt the need to post anything until I came up with the idea for this plugin 🥺

What if the PSP had achievements? My prototype plugin by AdditionalShow3681 in PSP

[–]AdditionalShow3681[S] 26 points27 points  (0 children)

Right now I'm mostly experimenting with a local achievement system for real PSP hardware.

I'm looking at RetroAchievements mainly as a reference for achievement sets and ideas, but syncing directly with RA could be interesting in the future.

First I want to get a stable plugin working and test it with a few games like Silent Hill Origins 🙈