Enable editing of PARAM.SFO

[RupertAvery]

Expose the PARAM.SFO fields and allow editing of relevent fields.

[kathyrollo]

Hi, it's u/k_rollo from reddit. I'm unfortunately getting this error after building the EBOOT.PBP (multi-disc):

[RupertAvery]

Thanks, can you let me know what specific game (GAMEID) this is? And more importantly, does it work if you convert it using PSX2PSP?

• What format was the disc image? (BIN, BIN+CUE, other)
• Did you apply any custom icons or other resources?
• A screenshot of the app before you generate might help.

[kathyrollo]

Hi @RupertAvery ,

This is a prepatched fantranslated PS1 game. Since it is a multi-disc game, it has 2 Game IDs:

• SLPS01830 (Disc 1)
• SLPS01831 (Disc 2)

You can get the game here in BIN/CUE format.

Yes, I tested exactly the same assets (BIN/CUE, ICON0, PIC1) used to successfully create the EBOOT.PBP file with PSX2PSP shown here.

Screenshots:

Disc 1:

Disc 2:

Resources:

ICON0.PNG:

PIC1.PNG:

Notes:

• GAME ID and GAME Title are set per disc under Disc Metadata.
• Save ID and DISC_ID are set to the Disc 1 value.
• Error 80020148 in the previous photo shows after the default BOOT.PNG (warning) screen.

Let me know if you need other details. Cheers!

[RupertAvery]

Thanks for the information @kathyrollo this was really helpful.

I think I may have a fix.

https://github.com/RupertAvery/PSXPackager/actions/runs/21105469816/artifacts/5166873510

This is much closer to the ouput of PSX2PSP, at least testing with compression level 0 so that any compression algorithm differences would be eliminated.

I changed the BASE.PBP to the one you use as well.

[kathyrollo]

Great UX improvement on the Resources tab by the way, I was going to raise some of them as enhancements. 👍

I put together a checklist for you:

• Bug (regression): Custom resources no longer show

Multi-disc now boots correctly, but all assets are blank.

• Bug: Unable to save EBOOT.PBP if PARAM.SFO fields are empty (INVALIDATED)

I tend to leave LICENSE and PARENTAL_LEVEL fields blank for homemade EBOOTs. Probably good to allow empty strings for non-mandatory fields.

• Bug: Removing an asset from the Resources tab by clicking [X] closes the whole app instead

• Bug: Browsing for the BOOT image defaults to *.at3

  • Cannot upload PNG file even after selecting All files (*.*) for supported type
  • UX: Can be renamed to Boot Image (BOOT.PNG) 480x272 for completeness
  • Enhancement: Tickbox for "Use default warning boot screen"

• UX: Information Overlay (PIC0.PNG) 310x180

I found documentation from Ebootr that PIC0 is 310x180 instead of 480x272.

PIC0.PNG:

Originally, I had it as a separate asset, but PSX2PSP did not have a way to customise X/Y positions for PIC0 (pop-fe has this feature). It defaulted right beside ICON0, which covered the characters' faces. I photo edited it onto the background instead.

Cheers!

[RupertAvery]

Thank you for the thorough testing.

I'm not aware of the PBP format storing X/Y positions so I assume I can just overlay an image that is smaller than 310x180 onto a transparent 310x180 image. That will require some editing functionality in the UI and can probably be slated for a future update.

Regarding empty PARAM.SFO fields, I'm not sure how Ebootr works but I can't set an field as empty in Ebootr. Also, the PARAM.SFO format doesn't seem to support empty numeric fields. It should support removing the fields, but then again I don't know what effect that would have on a real PSP loading.

Of course, you somehow are able to do this. Can you tell me how this is possible?

Here is the latest buiild with some fixes:

https://github.com/RupertAvery/PSXPackager/actions/runs/21114668993/artifacts/5169367469

• Bug: Browsing for the BOOT image defaults to *.at3
• Bug: Removing an asset from the Resources tab by clicking [X] closes the whole app instead
• Cannot upload PNG file even after selecting All files (.) for supported type
• UX: Can be renamed to Boot Image (BOOT.PNG) 480x272 for completeness

Enhancements:

• Some UI improvements
• You can now drag and drop assets into respective slots.
• Added a preview tab (eventually will replace resources tab)
• Drag and drop files onto preview resource areas to load

[RupertAvery]

Just showing off some basic layout capability - you can actually add layers and move them about.

As you can see I positioned the cardcaptor sakura logo so that it would appear at the bottom of the information area.

[kathyrollo]

This is looking very promising! I'm just leaving you this quickly in case you needed the resource:

BOOT.PNG:

This was the original PIC1 before I photoshopped PIC0 over it, so you can test the info overlay better. I'm just using it as the boot screen now.

Cheers!

[kathyrollo]

Hi @RupertAvery ,

I've ticked all the bugs in my previous post that have passed retesting. The new drag-n-drop is such a QoL improvement, well done!

It should support removing the fields, but then again I don't know what effect that would have on a real PSP loading.

You're right about this. I don't actually "leave it blank" in Ebootr, but rather remove those fields after creating the EBOOT with PSX2PSP. For reference, these are the minimum PARAM.SFO fields for a runnable EBOOT based on Ebootr's template:

Happy to keep the current PARAM.SFO behaviour and fields as is. I've invalidated the corresponding bug to reflect this.

UPDATE: I've also found the PS3 PARAM.SFO specsheet here. Given that PS1 titles were often imported from the PS3 to the PSP, this is probably the closest we can get.

Testing

• Bug: ICON0 frame not generated

When the resource is added before ticking Generate Icon Frame, the frame does not render. This is carried over to the XMB on the PSP. Users are likely to expect the frame to appear/disappear on the fly as they tick/untick the option.

• Bug: PIC0 stretched on the PSP

Looks normal on Preview, but stretched on the PSP.

• Bug: Clicking Cancel instead of Select Folder under Save for PSP creates the EBOOT.PBP anyway

• UX: Sensible defaults for PARAM.SFO

Love how you set PARENTAL_LEVEL = 1. I think it's a reasonable default. Here are some other suggested values:

PSP_SYSTEM_VER	: 3.71
LICENSE			: Library programs Copyright(C) Sony ComputerEntertainment Inc.

The value for PSP_SYSTEM_VER varies across PSN PS1 EBOOTs. However, 3.71 is a popular community standard in POPSLoader compatibility testing, where Sony officially supported multi-disc handling via Switch Discs/Reset Game. It also serves as the lowest version we can target for multi-disc EBOOTs.

The suggested value for LICENSE is the verbatim string consistently present in all the PSN PS1 EBOOTs I currently have.

• UX: Load disc image

Probably more intuitive with generic wording since the app supports multiple formats. Future-proof too if you decide to support others.

• Enhancement: Save and Boot previews (similar to PSX2PSP)

Since I don't have SND0 and ICON1 resources available, not sure if the current Preview tab supports music/animation playback or if any of the other existing tools do so.

You've done great work so far. That's all for now.
Cheers!

[RupertAvery]

Hello @kathyrollo

Assets are loading? Wonderful! I assume I didn't break loading the game or anything with the changes?

I think I've fixed most of the issues.

• Bug: ICON0 frame not generated

This has been fixed by the Layers feature. This allows it to be regenerated dynamically.

• Bug: PIC0 stretched on the PSP

This should also be fixed by the Layers code. At least, I have tested by generating an EBOOT and opening in Ebootr and extracting the images. What probably was happening is that the old code was saving the image as-is, and the XMB was stretching it to fill the 310x180 information overlay area. The new code explicitly creates a 310x180 (or whatever size the resource should be) canvas and draws layers on top of them.

On that note, PIC0 and PIC1 have a default image with a transparent bitmap layer. This may be a bit confusing. The original popstation.dll source code (which comes with PSX2PSP) actually loads in blank PNGs of the appropriate size for PIC0 and PIC1 instead of leaving them out of the PBP, so I'm not quite sure if the PSP will freak out if these are not included.

On the other hand, I can leave them empty in the UI, then apply the default images when building the PBP as it should do anyway.

• Bug: Clicking Cancel instead of Select Folder under Save for PSP creates the EBOOT.PBP anyway

An old bug that was never addressed, thank you for pointing it out.

• UX: Sensible defaults for PARAM.SFO

Done. I will probably need to allow changes to these to be saved to settings, except for game and title. One thing that needs to be done is validation for required fields, at least for DISC_ID and TITLE, to make sure they are not empty.

• UX: Load disc image

Done. I was probably incorrect from the beginning anyway as I didn't understand the difference between ISO and BIN/IMG back then. This app probably doesn't even support the ISO format (nor are there any purposeful ISOs of PS1 discs floating around anyway), so I should probably remove any idea that you can convert ISOs with this.

I have also updated PARAM.SFO saving so that empty entries will be removed in the saved PARAM.SFO table. I've tested with Ebootr and it seems to be working. Of course, it was a bit hastily thrown together to check if it would work, so I'm sure there's a lot of room for improvements.

A lot has changed, as you can see there is a more complete layering system and support for multiple layers of images and text. It includes a font "NewRodin Pro DB" which seems to look like the PSP font. There is also a templates feature and some included templates for generating the Information Overlay.

Hopefully the layering is intuitive enough for now. You can add/remove layers with Right-Click. You click on the layers to select them, or hold CTRL and click on the objects in the image area to select them by hit test. You can resize objects by click-dragging the lower right corner, useful for wrapping text or resizing images. You can reset layers in the context menu.

Here's the latest version for you to play with:

https://github.com/RupertAvery/PSXPackager/actions/runs/21177984475/artifacts/5191908884

Since I don't have SND0 and ICON1 resources available, not sure if the current Preview tab supports music/animation playback or if any of the other existing tools do so.

It doesn't and I didn't know what to do with those either. To support music I'd need something that can decode AT3, same with PMF, and though it'd be nice to support those no one has really requested it or reported any issues with it, I can only assume it's not used much.

Thanks for taking the time again to test the app and reply.

[kathyrollo]

Hi @RupertAvery

Assets are loading? Wonderful! I assume I didn't break loading the game or anything with the changes?

Yes, all assets are loading on the PSP. Great job! I always verify playability, disc-swap, and save/load of the EBOOT because it's the ultimate goal of the app after all. I've been progressing in the game too because of testing PSXPackager. 😄

The new code explicitly creates a 310x180 (or whatever size the resource should be) canvas and draws layers on top of them.

This is great! The overlay is not stretched now on the PSP.

I can leave them empty in the UI, then apply the default images when building the PBP

Sounds like the better approach. I was confused when I was dragging the resource, didn't realise there was an invisible one.

I should probably remove any idea that you can convert ISOs with this.

One format gaining rapid popularity is CHD (Compressed Hunks of Data) due to its lossless compression. BIN/CUE and ISO images are often converted to/offered as CHD these days due to widespread emulator support. Might be a good idea to support it in the future.

To support music I'd need something that can decode AT3, same with PMF, and though it'd be nice to support those no one has really requested it or reported any issues with it, I can only assume it's not used much.

This is a fair assumption. Most simply like to recreate the PSN PS1 EBOOT for the official look and those did not have sound/animation.

Testing

• Bug: ICON0 frame crops the original cover image

In PSX2PSP, it automatically scales the cover down to fit inside the frame. Probably a good default behaviour when frame is enabled since users generally don't resize/reposition the cover.

• Bug: Removing layer via right-click context doesn't remove the resource from the canvas

It's only removed from the layers panel.

• Bug: PIC0 layout editor position different from final position (INVALIDATED)

When the user repositions PIC0 to edge of the bounding box in the layout editor, they will likely expect it also to be on the edge of the actual background. As seen on the Preview and the actual PSP screenshot, there is visible padding surrounding the PIC0 overlay.

• Bug: LICENSE field persists in EBOOT after leaving it blank

I intentionally left PARENTAL_LEVEL and LICENSE fields empty. PARENTAL_LEVEL was automatically removed from the EBOOT, but LICENSE remained.

The tool used here is PBPViewer. It can come in handy if you wanted to do form validation for PARAM.SFO fields since its extended PARAM.SFO editor includes expected length and data type.

• UX: Load default PIC1 on app launch

PIC1.PNG:

I extracted the default PIC1.PNG from the PSN PS1 EBOOTs. Probably good to load the background when the user opens the app. Goes with the info overlay template.

• UX: Load default info overlay template on app launch

The overlay template is what users would like most of the time when they just want to create an EBOOT quickly. Probably good to load the template when the user opens the app. It makes the default experience "ready-to-go" with advanced customisation as the cherry on top.

• UX: Clear all layers

Additional option to remove all layers to clear the canvas. Different from Revert to Default when there are preloaded images/templates.

• UX: Tooltip over canvas

When the user hovers the canvas:

Press CTRL to drag resource into position.

This handy feature is a bit of an easter egg and can't be figured out by just clicking around.

• UX: Small description for non-PARAM.SFO fields

Game ID (per disc)
Game Title (per disc)
Save ID (main)
Save Title (main)

If the user is new to the world of PS1 EBOOTs, they likely wouldn't know the distinction.

---

This is probably the most sophisticated PS1 EBOOT designer in known existence. Superb job on the layout editor! There were many features to test, but hopefully I covered the most critical scenarios.

Cheers!

[RupertAvery]

Just quickly on Bug: PIC0 layout editor position different from final position

The XMB does the job of rendering the 310x180 Information overlay bitmap onto the screen, and it does so at a specific location, with padding around. Think of how the "standard" information overlay appears.

To be more specific, PIC0 layout arranges the layers within PIC0, not on the screen.

I'll work on the other items soon. I've been playing around with loading audio tracks from bin+cues and playing them. There aren't a whole lot of games with audio tracks, but I think it's a neat little feature.

I did manage to find some code that can extract mpeg frames from PMFs, but I still need to see if it actually works.

• UX: Small description for non-PARAM.SFO fields

I'm not quite sure what to do with SaveID / Save Title. I was a bit confused over their use but I realized they map to the PARAM.SFO DISC_ID and TITLE fields, right? So they should always be the same thing, and PARAM.SFO is more of an "advanced" thing?

And yes, probably a tooltip or note on why you should edit them (IIRC, you should only edit the gameId to force POPS to load some compatibiliy hacks?)

Regarding CHDs, I've been holding off from from implementing it as I don't want to rely on calling chdman.exe to do the job, Mostly because getting progress status from a (hidden) console is difficult or error-prone. but I guess there is no other easier way as of now.

Thanks!

[kathyrollo]

Hi @RupertAvery

The XMB does the job of rendering the 310x180 Information overlay bitmap onto the screen, and it does so at a specific location, with padding around.

Gotcha! I've invalidated the bug from the list.

I'm not quite sure what to do with SaveID / Save Title. I was a bit confused over their use but I realized they map to the PARAM.SFO DISC_ID and TITLE fields, right?

I can confirm this based on PSX2PSP's behaviour. If they always just map to DISC_ID and TITLE in the PARAM.SFO, it may even be logical to remove Save ID and Save Title (leave Game ID and Game Title), then just let the users modify the values via the PARAM.SFO tab. I'll let you have a think on it. I'm leaning more towards simply removing them.

And yes, probably a tooltip or note on why you should edit them (IIRC, you should only edit the gameId to force POPS to load some compatibiliy hacks?)

Tooltips over (all) the text fields is actually one of my UX improvements down the line after we've ironed out the main functionality and squashed the bugs. You don't have to do them all at once right now, but you can add them over the confusing/less obvious fields as you go along for the absolute PS1 EBOOT beginner user. Your app not only helps them make the EBOOT, it guides them properly.

Cheers!

[RupertAvery]

Hi @kathyrollo,

I have a new build here:

https://github.com/RupertAvery/PSXPackager/actions/runs/21345361553/artifacts/5252297903

The changes are... a lot. and maybe some of them might need to be moved into a new issue to better keep track of things.

But I just wanted you to have the latest changes for now, something to play around with. I'll try to list the changes