forums.ps2dev.org

mharris · Joined: 25 Jan 2004 Posts: 155 Location: Annapolis, MD, USA

I've started putting together a FAQ for ps2dev. This will hopefully become the "newbies guide to ps2dev" that we get a lot of requests for. The idea is to have a one-stop solution for the majority of the questions that newcomers ask.

The basic contents will be:

How to get the tools
How to build/install the tools
How to build an app
How to get an app running on the ps2 using Independence with ps2link or naplink
I'm thinking about having an appendix about the ps2 architecture, similar to the venerable Ars Technica article

I'll probably also add a little philosophy in the introduction -- what the ps2dev community does and doesn't do (e.g., cracking/modding commecial games, etc.), and Gorim's "we don't need an easier loader" manifesto.

I probably will not have much in the way of coding tutorials, mainly to keep the size onder control. I'll probably have a very basic "hello ps2" for completeness.

I am open to other topics that need to be included; post them here. If you want to contribute as an author, let me know as well. I'll post a more complete outline soon. When I have something usable, I'll see about getting it into CVS.

apache37 · Joined: 04 Jun 2004 Posts: 76

Are you going to cover boot methods? That and "how do I get X onto my memory card?" seem to be common newbie questions.

redcoat · Joined: 11 Aug 2004 Posts: 21

Speaking as a newbie, myself, I think this would be an excellent addition to ps2dev. I'm sure the ps2dev team get tired of the same old questions coming around.

My two cents worth of suggestions are:
- list common mistakes, and how to fix them,
- what environment variables should be defined in your .bash_profile (I "discovered" the ones that were missing by looking in the Makefiles), e.g. I had $PS2SDK == $PS2SDKSRC for a few days which caused odd problems,
- known problems/incompatibilities, e.g. ps2link v1.24 (current) doesn't appear to work with current ps2atad.irx & ps2hdd.irx, but ps2link v1.22 does(?),
- tutorials would be an excellent addition, but I appreciate that these are time-consuming (and not as much fun as coding :wink: ).

Adding a created/modified timestamp to the FAQ would be a great help. Maybe, even to each section (& sub-section) so us newbies have a clue as to how recent/relevant a piece of information is. It is really frustrating to bang your head against the wall for hours/days only to discover that the information that you are using is so old it should be in a muesum. :(

I'll pull together my own notes as to how I've done things myself, and more importantly the traps/mistakes I've fallen into.

bendarr · Joined: 25 Aug 2004 Posts: 12

I applaud your efforts and wish you well. One thing I've been very impressed with (for the most part) around here is the lack or trolls that frequent the X-Box development scene. Most everyone is extremely helpful and patient. Not like "HA HA you stupid n00b! What a dumb question!"

One thing you might keep in mind is that you know a lot about what you're talking about. We dont. Try to keep it simple and straight forward, explaining every step along the way.

But I'm sure you know that...

ooPo · Posted: Sat Aug 28, 2004 10:12 am Post subject:

If you open my toolchain.sh script with a text editor, you'll see instructions like which environment variables need to be set. :)

( http://www.oopo.net/consoledev )

mharris · Joined: 25 Jan 2004 Posts: 155 Location: Annapolis, MD, USA

ooPo · Posted: Sat Aug 28, 2004 10:45 am Post subject:

The only things I can really see changing with the toolchain script would be to grab ps2sdk from an archive rather than right out of cvs, and maybe adding a couple other software packages like gslib or whatever the crazy kids are using these days...

redcoat · Joined: 11 Aug 2004 Posts: 21

ooPo · Posted: Sat Aug 28, 2004 2:18 pm Post subject:

You know, if you were using the script a couple months ago when it still used ps2lib/etc, you would have been ok. :)

I run into the same nonsense whenever I get interested in compiling the latest projects just to see what's new. I spend a few hours tracking down some arcane environment variables, change a bit of code to compile with gcc3, etc... in the end I give up and never bother. Its quite a pain...

Hopefully ps2sdk will solve a lot of this. It combined a bunch of these projects together, although they were the easy ones to begin with... *shrug*

mharris · Joined: 25 Jan 2004 Posts: 155 Location: Annapolis, MD, USA