Retro-GEM-POPStarter-Starter

Overview

Originally designed with PS1 games and POPStarter in mind, Retro-GEM-POPStarter-Starter is a simply PS2 app for use with HDDOSD or PSBBN that launches any .elf file found in the current working directory and sets the Retro GEM Game ID accordingly.

Setting up POPStarter

Follow this guide to set up POPStarter and get PS1 games running on your PS2 HDD: POPStarter Quickstart Guide.

All games should be titled in the standard format used by OPL, with the Game ID as a prefix, for example, SCUS_941.94.Gran Turismo.VCD, and placed in the __.POPS partition.

Setting up POPStarter-Starter

1. Create a partition on your PS2 HDD with the prefix PP. followed by a name of your choosing.

2. Put the signed executable POPStarter-Starter.kelf into the root of the above partition.

3. Place the POPSTARTER.ELF file into the root of the same partition, making sure to rename it to match the .VCD file you wish to launch while keeping the .elf extension, for example, SCUS_941.94.Gran Turismo.elf.

4. Create the text file system.cnf. BOOT2 should be set to pfs/:POPStarter-Starter.kelf:

   BOOT2 = pfs:/POPStarter-Starter.kelf
   VER = 1.00
   VMODE = NTSC
   HDDUNITPOWER = NICHDD

5. Source a standard PS2 game icon or make your own. Rename it to list.ico.

6. Create the text file icon.sys. For example:

   PS2X
   title0=Gran Turismo
   title1=SCUS-94194
   bgcola=0
   bgcol0=0,0,0
   bgcol1=0,0,0
   bgcol2=0,0,0
   bgcol3=0,0,0
   lightdir0=1.0,-1.0,1.0
   lightdir1=-1.0,1.0,-1.0
   lightdir2=0.0,0.0,0.0
   lightcolamb=64,64,64
   lightcol0=64,64,64
   lightcol1=16,16,16
   lightcol2=0,0,0
   uninstallmes0=
   uninstallmes1=
   uninstallmes2=

7. Inject system.cnf, list.ico, and icon.sys into the header of your partition using HDL Dump. For example:

   hdl_dump modify_header hdd<Disk Number>: <PP.PartitionName>

For PSBBN only

8. Create the folder res in PP.PartitionName. This folder will contain all resources.

9. Inside the res folder, place the text file info.sys. Example file:

   title = Gran Turismo
   title_id = SCUS-94194
   title_sub_id = 0
   release_date =
   developer_id =
   publisher_id =
   note =
   content_web =
   image_topviewflag = 0
   image_type = 0
   image_count = 1
   image_viewsec = 600
   copyright_viewflag = 0
   copyright_imgcount = 0
   genre =
   parental_lock = 1
   effective_date = 0
   expire_date = 0
   area = J
   violence_flag = 0
   content_type = 255
   content_subtype = 0

10. Place jkt_001.png in the res folder. This picture will be used as the thumbnail for the game. It can be the same picture as used in OPL.

Notes

This not only works for PS1 games with POPStarter, you can place any .elf file in the partition you created and it will be launched. The Retro GEM Game ID will be set to the first 11 characters of the .elf file's name.

If you compile this program from source, the resulting file will be POPStarter-Starter.elf. You will need to sign the executable before it can be used.

Sign the executable with this application:

kelftool encrypt mbr POPStarter-Starter.elf POPStarter-Starter.kelf

If you have downloaded POPStarter-Starter.kelf from Releases, then the file is already signed so this step is not necessary.

Credits

Written by CosmicScale
Inspired by OPL-Launcher
Uses GameID code based on the AppCakeLtd gameid-with-gem fork of Open-PS2-Loader.