I apologize if it looks a little messy.
I am currently working on a video tutorial.
Sorry for the lack of Mac support, I am normally a Mac user, but I didn't know there was a pbp unpacker/packer for Mac
I am going to re-write the tutorial to add in osx support a little better.
Here is a guide on how to make your own PBOOT files for custom bubble icon and text.
This will help you make your custom bubbles look nice, and make it easier to find your bubble homebrew.
Things you will need:
PS Vita (duh)
Windows (for this tutorial) -- Mac tutorial will come soon
PBP Packer - https://www.mediafire.com/?752q8m0611s290b (windows version) ||| http://www.mediafire.com/download/x1a0m ... ersMac.zip (mac version - link courtesy of smithsf0x)
Hex editor to edit your PARAM.SFO - I HIGHLY recommend HxD with copies for both Mac and Windows - I have run into NO problems editing with this hex editor, and you don't need to manually enter spaces in the hex.
Base PARAM.SFO - Download my base PARAM.SFO here: https://www.mediafire.com/?yd4wh14cug365mq
FTP Client - for easy transferring to/from Vita
You will need clean, base PARAM.SFO to work off of - I recommend using the one I included, but if you want your own, read the bottom to see how to get one easily.
Your base game ID (for this example, I will use Arcade Darts - NPUZ00097)
Let's dive on in! .... dive on in...
Pics are in the spoilers, if you want to see the pic full size, just right click the image and click view image.
Okie dokie, on to step one.
Step 1.) Lets make a root folder to work out of, thats easy to access in both explorer and cmd.
So go ahead and make a folder in C:\ (or your root hard drive on Mac) -- I named mine "pboots"
Inside this folder, make another folded named "hb1" -- Should be C:\pboots\hb1 when your done with that.
Now make one more folder inside pboots called "backups" -- so it should be C:\pboots\backups when your done.
Pic:
[spoiler]
[/spoiler]Step 2.) Extract PARAM.SFO Editor into C:\pboots. Next extract PBP Packer into C:\pboots\hb1. Lastly, copy your base PARAM.SFO into BOTH C:\pboots\hb1 AND C:\pboots\backups
Step 3.) Now, decide which homebrew/app/game you are going to make this icon for before you go any further....
Decided?.. Good.
Now we can create an icon.
The icon must be in the following format:
H: 144 x V: 80 (so 144 x 80 ) - saved in PNG format as ICON0.PNG or 80 x 80 for Minis
Pic:
[spoiler]
[/spoiler]Step 4.) Once you have finished making your hot new icon, go ahead and save it into C:\pboots\hb1 as ICON0.PNG
Double check your icon, make sure it looks good. Because once you upload the PBOOT to your Vita, they are a pain to remove without formatting the memory card.
Make sure the ICON0.PNG file is saved in C:\pboots\hb1 (or whatever folder you are using)
If the ICON0.PNG is not saved in the right directory, or if it doesn't match proper specifications, or if it is corrupt (or wrong format even) - it will not read, and you will most likely either get a blank icon, or the PBOOT just wont work.
So always double, no triple check your work!
Pic:
[spoiler]
[/spoiler]Step 5.) Take a minute to get familiar with your hex editor, HxD is what I recommend, easy to use and free.
If you are still a little uncomfortable in a hex editor, Google some videos or guides on how to use one, its quite easy once you get the hang of it.
Another thing, in the hex editor, you want to overwrite the text, NOT insert. DO NOT insert! Remember that and continue on to step 6.
Step 6.) OK go ahead and open up PARAM.SFO in HxD (or whatever your favorite Hex editor is) -- I DO NOT RECOMMEND SFO EDITOR ANY MORE - It usually corrupts the SFO file!
Once you have PARAM.SFO open in your favorite hex editor, go ahead and change the game ID, title and pboot title (the 3 titles)
This is very important, ONLY EDIT THESE THREE PARTS:
Disc ID/Game ID, TITLE and PBOOT_TITLE
PBOOT_TITLE is the long name of the Game/App accessing the PARAM.SFO file, usually you wont see that in the Vita but it's good to change it to your homebrew for reference.
TITLE is the important one, that is what you will see under your bubble on your Vita.
Disc ID is what tells the system what game to match the PARAM.SFO and settings too.
In this example, I am making a snes9x bubble - so I've done the following changes:
Disc ID: NPUZ00097
TITLE: SNES9X Emulator
PBOOT_TITLE: SNES9X Emulator for Vita
DO NOT CHANGE ANYTHING ELSE!
Once your finished go ahead and save - if you are using HxD, it will automatically make a backup of the SFO prior to your changes.
Pic:
[spoiler]
[/spoiler]OPTIONAL BUT RECOMMENDED: Reopen your saved PARAM.SFO in PARAM.SFO Editor and double check your work! (Just make sure to do any editing in a hex editor)
Make sure the Disc ID matches your base game ID.
Make sure the title looks good.
Once you've done that, you are good to go.
Step 7.) Now it's time for command prompt fun time!
Open up Command Prompt (cmd)
Once your in cmd, type:
cd C:\pboots\hb1
Your current directory should be C:\pboots\hb1
MAC:
Open up terminal
Type sudo -s (then enter your login password if one is applicable)
Now type cd /pboots/hb1
Continue the tutorial:
Next type:
pack PBOOT.PBP param.sfo icon0.png NULL NULL NULL NULL NULL NULL
Pic:
[spoiler]
[/spoiler]Congrats, your PBOOT is done!
Now lets get onto copying it to your custom bubble.
Step 8.) I am going to assume from here you have already made your custom bubble. (pics in spoilers)
8a) So go ahead and start up VitaFTP on your Vita, and whatever your favorite FTP client is on Windows.
[spoiler]
[/spoiler]8b) Connect to your Vita and browse to /PSP
[spoiler]
[/spoiler]8c) Rename your GAME folder to GAMEZ (DO NOT FORGET ABOUT THIS~!)
[spoiler]
[/spoiler]8d) Now browse to /PSP/GAMEZ/NPUZ00097& (replace that ID with your base game ID, and it must be the folder with the & on the end
[spoiler]
[/spoiler]8e) Now, on your PC, rename your new PBOOT.PBP to PBOOT.PBP^ (with the ^ on the end yes)
[spoiler]
[/spoiler]8f) Copy PBOOT.PBP^ to /PSP/GAMEZ/NPUZ00097&
[spoiler]
[/spoiler]8g) In your FTP client, rename PBOOT.PBP^ to PBOOT.PBP. (with a . on the end where the ^ was)
[spoiler]
[/spoiler]8h) Now back out of that folder back to the /PSP folder
[spoiler]
[/spoiler]8i) Rename GAMEZ back to GAME (DO NOT FORGET TO DO THIS)
[spoiler]
[/spoiler]Step 9.) Close VitaFTP, close any other games and shut off your Vita.
Now start your Vita into safe mode (Hold Power Button + PS Button + Right Button)
Select Rebuild Database -> Yes
Now wait... Once the Vita restarts and rebuilds the database, you should have a nice looking homebrew bubble with a custom icon and custom text.
Enjoy!~
For a PARAM.SFO:
You can obtain this pretty easily, I get one usually by backing up a PSP game using CMA, then going into Documents/PS Vita/PGame/###############/GAMEID/sce_sys - these do not have the PBOOT_TITLE line, if you use one of these PARAM.SFO files you only need to change TWO values, the GAME ID and the TITLE
You can also use pbp tools to extract a param.sfo from your base game.
The result should get you something like this:
... dive on in... (wonder if anyone gets that
)
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