Homebrew (video games)
The official documentation is often only available to licensed developers, and these systems may use storage formats that make distribution difficult, such as ROM cartridges or encrypted CD-ROMs.
There is also a softmod/save game exploit called "tonyhax" Requirements consist of a PC, SDK, and a 'Comms Link' device to upload and download files to and from the console.
UniROM works by being installed onto a cheat-device, which is connected via the parallel-port (on old consoles) and allows loading of custom code via burned CDs and the serial port.
Nintendo's Virtual Boy has no region lock, but it wasn't until the flash carts FlashBoy and FlashBoy+ were released that the homebrew scene began to grow.
Early versions of the PlayStation 2 have a buffer overflow bug in the part of the BIOS that handles PS1 game compatibility; hackers found a way to turn this into a loophole called the PS2 Independence Exploit (released in August 2003), allowing the use of homebrew software.
Sony released an official Linux-based operating system for the PS2 in 2002, with the contents of the kit including a keyboard, mouse, Network Adaptor and HDD.
With a few minor issues, it is now possible to play games entirely from the HDD, without the need to use the optical disc drive nor a physical memory card.
Free McBoot is also notable for allowing the user to copy PS1/PS2 save files from a Memory Card to a USB drive, a functionality normally only possible with tools such as DexDrive.
Such programs include emulators, media players, hard drive management tools, and PC-based or NAS-based file shares.
For a long time the only way to run homebrew software on Nintendo GameCube was through a patching-system exploit of Phantasy Star Online Episode I & II, requiring users to find the game and a Broadband Adapter.
Swiss is an “all-in-one homebrew utility”, including a file browser, and the ability to force software to use different video modes that aren't officially supported, such as progressive scan or 16:9 widescreen.
The primary method of executing homebrew code required installing a mod chip which could be flashed with a modified Microsoft BIOS.
This BIOS allowed the system to boot unsigned executables (XBEs) and control several hardware variables, such as region coding and video mode.
This method utilizes modified font and sound files to cause the Xbox to cause a stack buffer overflow and load a homebrew dashboard.
[90] Photographer Steve Chapman, looking for other ways to continue his photography work with smaller equipment, created DS-DSLR, an application that allowed him to control his camera without his bulky laptop.
When his camera was connected to the DS through the GBA cartridge slot, DS-DSLR allowed him to execute many tasks, including controlled bracketing, custom interval shots, and timed long exposures.
On March 20, 2007, it was announced that a hack using the previously discovered hypervisor vulnerability in the Xbox 360 kernel versions 4532 and 4548 had been developed to allow users to run XeLL, a Linux bootloader.
The initial hack was beyond the average user and required an Xbox serial cable to be installed and a flashed DVD Drive firmware.
Felix Domke, the programmer behind XeLL, has since announced a live bootable Linux CD suitable for novice users, with the capabilities to be installed to the SATA hard drive of the Xbox 360.
[citation needed] Homebrew was since re-enabled on any Xbox 360 with dash 2.0.7371.0 or lower via an exploit referred to as the JTAG / SMC hack but was promptly patched again by Microsoft with the 2.0.8495.0 update.
Another exploit was found on August 14, 2008, allowing users to boot some backup games from the PlayStation 3's HDD, although the exact instructions on how to do this were not released at that time.
[98] George Hotz, better known under his nickname "geohot", appeared on Attack of the Show because he released the PlayStation 3's encryption keys, therefore any homebrew or custom firmware can be signed.
Charges included violating the DMCA, CFAA, copyright law, and California's CCDAFA, and for breach of contract (related to the PlayStation Network User Agreement), tortious interference, misappropriation, and trespass.
Other ways to run The Homebrew Launcher have been discovered since then, including freakyhax, an exploit in the Deluxe edition of Freakyforms: Your Creations, Alive!
In the 11.6.0-39 system update, all regions of Flipnote Studio version <=1.0.1 in USA, <=1.2.0 in EUR, and <=1.3.1 in JPN were blocked from launching the application, patching the exploit on current firmware.
[118][119][120][121][122] Most of these use the PS4 Web Browser as the entry point, but the PPPwn exploit uses a vulnerability found in the Playstation 4 network settings and a computer to send payloads.
However, in 2018, computer science student TheFloW (Andy Nguyen) found a kernel bug in firmware versions 3.65, 3.67, and 3.68 that allowed unsigned code to be run.
[130] Tiramisu allows custom firmware to be automatically loaded on boot like CBHC but uses the systems built in Health and Safety Information app to run the exploit instead of a VC game.
Tiramisu allows users to change the Boot Title of the system after installation Later in September 2022 the first public beta for the new Aroma environment was released.
[136] At the 34th Chaos Communication Congress, hackers Plutoo, Derrek, and Naehrwert announced a kernel exploit for the system (which they said would not be released) and said that a homebrew launcher was coming soon.
