OSD-XMB

This is a User Interface for the PS2 resembling the PS3/PSP XMB Style developed by HiroTex, made on Athena Env by DanielSant0s, and inspired by the XtremeEliteBoot+ dashboard by Howling Wolf & Chelsea.

Features

• Plugin System where you can make your own plugins to show items on the dashboard, either on JSON format or more customized with the XML format.

• Launch PS2 ISO games from several devices:

  • The App will automatically populate a "Playstation 2" folder on the "Game" Category with all ISO format games that are on your "DVD/" or "CD/" folders at the root of your device (or inside a subfolder "PS2").
  • Supported devices are:
    • USB Drive (FAT32 and exFAT).
    • MX4SIO or MMCE.
    • Internal APA HDD or exFAT HDD (using PSBBN's setup).
    • UDPBD (follow these instructions).
  • You can customize your preferred settings for your games if you open the "Option" menu while highlighting the game and select "Settings" (Remember to use the confirmation button to save changes).
  • The "Show Logo", "Show Debug Colors", and "GSM" settings can be set globally for all games on the "Game Settings" Plugin at the "Settings" Category..

• Launch PS2 games in HDL Format:

  • Games installed with HD Loader will be automatically listed on the "Playstation 2" folder.
  • You can set their Game IDs manually on the "neutrino.cfg" file, or by following the naming pattern "PP.Game-ID..GameName".

Important

MX4SIO and MMCE are not compatible with each other, so you can only enable one of them.
Read MX4SIO is not available.

Important

APA HDD and exFat HDD are not compatible with each other, so you can only enable one of them.
Read The App is not reading exfat HDD.

Important

Make sure to have the necessary files on the POPS folder.
Read PS1 POPS Games are not being scanned.

• Launch PS1 games from USB Drive or HDD:
  • The app will automatically scan your POPS folder on the root of your USB Drive (and the "__.POPS" partition if present) to list all the .VCD files on the "Playstation 1" Plugin folder in the "Game" Category.
  • The name of the VCD will be the game's name.
  • If no ELF for the VCD is found, it will be automatically created when launching the game.
  • You can set several POPS special settings the same way the PS2 per-game settings are set, by using the Options Menu for each game.
  • More global options (Cheats) are set on the "Game Settings" Plugin in the "Settings" Category.

Warning

The next feature is disabled by default, if you enable it and the app crashes after the boot sequence, your PS2 has an uncompatible modchip and you must disable the feature manually.
Read The App freezes exactly after the Boot sequence.

• Launch PS1 and PS2 games from Discs:

  • The App will automatically recognize if there is a PS1 CD/CDDA or PS2 CD/CDDA/DVD in the disctray and highlight it automatically if you're idle on the "Game" category.
  • You can add "(Game-ID).cfg" files on the "CFG" folder with the Item "Title=Game Name" to display Customized Game Titles for this Item.
  • To enable this feature, go into "System Settings" and enable "Disc Tray Reading".

• Execute ELFs:

  • You can execute custom ELFs by the use of Plugins, or using the File Explorer. The File Explorer will launch any ELF without arguments, but you can make custom plugins to launch Elfs with custom arguments.

• List SAS APPS:

  • The App will automatically scan the Memory Cards for valid "SAS APPS" and list them on the "Apps" Plugin Folder on the "Game" Category.

• File Explorer:

  • The "File Explorer" Plugin and "Memory Card Utility" Plugin let you Delete any files and/or folders from your devices.

• Appearance Customization:

  • Besides the default PS3/PSP appearance and its related color settings, The Dashbaord is fully customizable by the use of "Themes" that can be completely user-made to change Icons and Background Images, as well as certain colors of some elements.
  • There are 2 themes already included with OSD-XMB:
    • Air Paint, resembling one of the PS3's default Themes.
    • PSX, based on the appearance of the XMB Dashboard of the DESR PSX Console.

• Network Connection:

  • OSD-XMB can connect to the Internet by using the "Network Settings" on the "Settings" category.
  • While you are connected to the net, OSD-XMB can fetch Game Artwork from this database.
  • To automatically download game artwork, do not open the "Playstation" and/or "Playstation 2" game folders before initializing the Network. After you have initialized the Network, you can navigate your games and the App will automatically start downloading available artwork from the Database. If you have already opened the game folders then you have to manually update the game artwork through the "Update Game Resources" item on the "Network" category.
  • To manually download Game Artwork by using the "Update Game Resources" item on the "Network" category, your games must be already identified (their Game-ID must be displayed below the game's Name).

Instructions

• It is suggested, but not necessary, to place these files inside a folder on a Memory Card and launch it from there, since the App can be set to auto-boot using FMCB:
  • OSDXMB.ELF
  • main.js
  • athena.ini
• Then you can place the rest of the Assets (Folders CFG,ART,XMB,etc) on a directory called "OSDXMB" on your preferred device.
• The following devices are currently supported and will be scanned to look for the App's assets:
  • mass?:/OSDXMB/ (any "mass" device, like USB, MX4SIO or exFat HDD)
  • mmce?:/OSDXMB/
  • hdd:__common:/OSDXMB/
  • Path where OSDXMB.ELF was launched from.

Important

Do not place the "XMB" folder that contains the launcher (ELF, main.js and ini) at the root of your devices (USB, MMCE, MX4SIO, etc). Only place the folder as is on a Memory Card, or place those assets inside the OSDXMB directory if you wish. If you want to have the XMB assets at the root of your device, change the folder name to something else.

Troubleshooting

These are common expected issues, please follow the instructions below to fix them:

The App does not launch / Black Screen at boot

• If using wLauncherElf, please switch your wLE version for an older one or use uLE, current wLE versions have problems running Athena.
• If FMCB is available, consider using FMCB to launch the App directly from the Browser or by Auto-boot/hotkey.
• If using PS2BBL, try enabling the config KEY_READ_WAIT_TIME = 2000.

The App freezes exactly after the Boot sequence

• On your Assets folder, go to CFG/main.js (If the file is not there, create it as a text file), and add an entry cdvd=false.
  If this fixes the issue, your PS2 has an uncompatible modchip and won't read CD/DVDs from the disc tray while on the App.

After creating a VMC the game does not start

• If you are trying to create a VMC on a MX4SIO or MMCE device and you have an USB plugged in, un-plug it from the console before booting OSD-XMB.

MX4SIO is not available

• In order to enable MX4SIO, MMCE must be disabled.
  To do this, open the athena.ini file as a text file, and swap true and false on the lines:

mmceman = true
mx4sio_bd = false

The App is not reading exfat HDD

• In order to enable exfat HDD support, PFS must be disabled.
  To do this, open the athena.ini file as a text file, and swap true and false on the lines:

ps2fs = true
ata_bd = false

PS1 POPS Games are not being scanned

• Make sure to have the necessary files inside the POPS Folder:
  • If using USB, make sure to have the files POPSTARTER.ELF and POPS_IOX.PAK on the POPS Folder.
  • If using HDD, make sure to have the files POPS.ELF, POPSTARTER.ELF and IOPRP252.IMG on the POPS folder inside the __common partition.

The UI keeps moving to the left

• If you are using an 8bitdo adapter, switch to digital mode by using the button combo L1 + R1 + Select + DPad Up. Digital mode is indicated by the LED on the adapter turning white.

Credits and Special Thanks

Inspired by: XtremeEliteBoot by Howling Wolf & Chelsea.

Based on: AthenaEnv by DanielSant0s.

Code Contributors: AKuHAK

Localization contributors:

• nuno6573 (Portuguese)
• PannaSalmone and Okeanos (Italian).
• LOWbster (German).

Special thanks to:

• krHACKen for his POPStarter project.
• rickgaiser for his neutrino app.
• sync-on-luma for his original Neutrino Plugin for XtremeEliteBoot and general feedback.
• VizoR for testing and general feedback.
• Okeanos for testing and general feedback.
• xGamereqPL for testing and general feedback.
• BlackNinja for testing and general feedback.
• Pmp174 for the Boot sequence feedback.
• You! Thanks for using the app.