PSP Achievements System

Offline achievements for real PlayStation Portable hardware.

PSP Achievements System is a GAME-mode kernel plugin for custom-firmware PSP consoles. The current runtime, PSPAchievementsNG, evaluates achievement conditions directly from game memory and provides unlock notifications, sound, badge artwork, persistent profiles, live progress, and an in-game achievement browser.

The plugin works locally after installation. Version 2.0.0 does not require an account or a permanent network connection.

Important

This public repository and its releases do not contain RetroAchievements trigger definitions or prebuilt .pach packages. RetroAchievements does not permit its achievement condition logic to be reused or redistributed. The project is now pursuing an official rcheevos/rc_client integration; until that work is complete, the public build alone cannot activate RetroAchievements sets.

Achievement metadata and badge artwork are provided by RetroAchievements. PSP Achievements System is independent and is not affiliated with or endorsed by RetroAchievements.

Important

PSPAchievementsNG 2.0.0 is compatible with profiles created by PSPAchievementsNG 1.0.0. Users of the older legacy PspAchievements.prx / PSP/ACH implementation must perform a clean migration.

Features

• Real-time achievement evaluation on physical PSP hardware.
• Automatic game detection by PSP Game ID.
• Runtime support for separately supplied compatible achievement packages; none are distributed publicly by this project.
• Optional .pbad badge packs with locked and unlocked artwork.
• Achievement notifications with a synthesized unlock sound.
• Persistent per-game profiles stored on the Memory Stick.
• Checksum validation, temporary writes, and automatic .bak recovery.
• In-game achievement browser with badge artwork and descriptions.
• ALL, LOCKED, and UNLOCKED filters.
• Live measured progress such as 7 / 10 where the achievement logic exposes it safely.
• Configurable menu hotkey, notification duration, audio, logging, and performance mode.
• Memory-read caching and adaptive scheduling for large achievement sets.
• Fully local runtime after the plugin and matching game packages are installed.

Tested hardware

Device / environment	Status
PSP-3000, ARK-4, Memory Stick path ms0:	Tested and supported
PSP-1000 / PSP-2000 / PSP Street with ARK-4	Expected to work; community verification needed
PSP Go with external M2 storage exposed as ms0:	Untested
PSP Go internal storage ef0:	Not supported in v2.0.0
PRO-C / LME	Untested
PS Vita / Adrenaline	Not supported or tested
PPSSPP	Not a runtime target; the plugin is intended for real PSP hardware
Official firmware without CFW	Not supported

Only the PSP-3000 + ARK-4 configuration is currently considered officially verified.

Supported games

Game support is tied to the exact PSP Game ID and executable revision. A package for one region cannot be made compatible with another region by renaming it.

Game	Region / revision	PSP Game ID	Achievements	Points	Evaluator	Status
Silent Hill: Origins	USA	ULUS-10285	66	666	Full-rate	Tested on hardware
Dante's Inferno	USA	ULUS-10469	63	666	Full-rate	Tested on hardware
Grand Theft Auto: Liberty City Stories	Europe v3.00	ULES-00151	105	1016	Adaptive	Tested on hardware
Grand Theft Auto: Vice City Stories	Europe v1.02	ULES-00502	190	1532	Adaptive	Tested on hardware
Metal Gear Solid: Peace Walker	USA	ULUS-10509	110	2100	Ultra-heavy adaptive	Experimental

Both GTA packages require the exact European revisions listed above. The USA and Russian ULUS-10160 release of Vice City Stories is not compatible with the European package. Large sets may still have a small performance cost because they contain substantially more conditions than the original three games.

See Supported Games for exact notes.

Release files

The public v2.0.0 release provides:

PSPAchievementsSystem-v2.0.0.zip

The archive contains the plugin, default configuration, documentation, and permitted badge artwork. It intentionally contains no .pach trigger packages.

Quick installation

1. Back up any existing PSP achievement profiles.

2. Remove or disable the legacy PspAchievements.prx plugin entry.

3. Extract the v2.0.0 plugin archive.

4. Copy its SEPLUGINS directory to the root of the Memory Stick.

5. Add this line to ms0:/SEPLUGINS/GAME.TXT:

   ms0:/SEPLUGINS/PSPAchievementsNG/PSPAchievementsNG.prx 1
   

6. Restart the PSP completely.

The public build will load, but RetroAchievements unlock support requires the planned official rc_client integration. Prebuilt trigger packages are not provided.

Read the complete Installation Guide, especially when upgrading from a legacy release.

Memory Stick layout

ms0:/
└── SEPLUGINS/
    ├── GAME.TXT
    └── PSPAchievementsNG/
        ├── PSPAchievementsNG.prx
        ├── config.ini
        ├── games/
        │   ├── ULUS-10285.pach
        │   ├── ULUS-10285.pbad
        │   ├── ULUS-10469.pach
        │   ├── ULUS-10469.pbad
        │   ├── ULES-00151.pach
        │   ├── ULES-00151.pbad
        │   ├── ULES-00502.pach
        │   ├── ULES-00502.pbad
        │   ├── ULUS-10509.pach
        │   └── ULUS-10509.pbad
        ├── profiles/
        │   ├── ULUS-10285.dat
        │   ├── ULUS-10285.bak
        │   └── ...
        └── logs/
            └── plugin.log

profiles/ and logs/ are created automatically. Do not place .pach or .pbad files in profiles/.

In-game menu

Hold the default hotkey for approximately 400 ms:

L + R + SELECT

Control	Action
Up / Down	Select the previous or next achievement
Left / Right	Move one page
Triangle	Switch ALL / LOCKED / UNLOCKED
L / R	Jump to the first or last item in the current filter
Circle	Close the menu

The game is temporarily paused while the menu is open to keep the framebuffer stable. The achievement evaluator is paused at the same time.

Configuration

The plugin reads this file when a game starts:

ms0:/SEPLUGINS/PSPAchievementsNG/config.ini

Recommended configuration:

[general]
enabled = 1
logging = 1

[notifications]
enabled = 1
startup = 1
duration_ms = 4000
startup_duration_ms = 2500

[audio]
enabled = 1
volume = 100
startup_sound = 1
unlock_sound = 1

[menu]
enabled = 1
hotkey = L+R+SELECT
hold_ms = 400
show_badges = 1

[performance]
mode = auto

Keep performance.mode = auto unless diagnosing a problem. Forcing full can make GTA and Peace Walker difficult to play.

See Configuration.

Verifying the installation

After launching a supported game, open:

ms0:/SEPLUGINS/PSPAchievementsNG/logs/plugin.log

A normal startup contains lines similar to:

PSPAchievementsNG 2.0.0
config loaded
game identification succeeded
game package found
achievement engine initialized
game package loaded
badge pack loaded
startup notification queued
achievement menu ready

The log is the first place to check when a package is missing, a region is unsupported, icons do not load, or performance is poor.

Profiles and backups

Each game receives its own profile:

profiles/GAME-ID.dat
profiles/GAME-ID.bak

The plugin writes new data to a temporary file, validates it, keeps the previous valid profile as .bak, and then replaces the main .dat. If the main profile becomes damaged, the plugin attempts to restore it automatically from the backup.

Back up the whole profiles/ directory before replacing a Memory Stick or performing a clean installation.

Updating

For updates within the PSPAchievementsNG line:

1. Back up profiles/.
2. Replace PSPAchievementsNG.prx.
3. Replace config.ini only when the release notes require it.
4. Keep existing .pach, .pbad, .dat, and .bak files unless the release notes explicitly say otherwise.
5. Restart the PSP completely.

For migration from legacy repository releases, follow Legacy Migration.

Building from source

PSPDEV / PSPSDK is required.

export PSPDEV="$HOME/pspdev"
export PATH="$PATH:$PSPDEV/bin"

make clean
make
make dist

Output:

dist/PSPAchievementsNG.prx
dist/config.ini

The repository also includes GitHub Actions workflows that build the PRX and create release archives from version tags. See Building.

Known limitations

• Version 2.0.0 is offline-only; there are no accounts, cloud synchronization, public profiles, leaderboards, or social sharing.
• Only the exact Game IDs listed above are currently supported.
• PSP Go internal ef0: storage is not supported.
• Very large achievement sets can still cause a small performance cost.
• Some achievement definitions intentionally reject cheat-enabled game states.
• Badge packs are optional; achievements still work when .pbad is missing.
• Metal Gear Solid: Peace Walker support is experimental and needs additional unlock testing.

See Troubleshooting before opening an issue.

Reporting a problem

Create an issue and include:

• PSP model;
• CFW name and version;
• plugin version;
• game title, region, and exact Game ID;
• clear reproduction steps;
• whether the issue occurs with the achievement menu closed;
• the relevant section of plugin.log.

Remove unrelated personal paths or data from logs before posting them.

Repository policy

The public Git repository intentionally excludes:

• captured service responses and raw trigger definitions;
• downloaded badge caches;
• compiled .pach and .pbad game packages;
• player profiles, backups, and logs;
• PRX, ELF, object files, and local build output;
• old release archives, .patch-backups, and operating-system metadata;
• credentials, tokens, account data, or private endpoints.

Run this before every public commit:

make public-check

See Repository Policy.

Credits and legal notice

PSP Achievements System is an independent community project. It is not affiliated with or endorsed by Sony Interactive Entertainment, ARK-4, PPSSPP, or RetroAchievements. PlayStation and PSP are trademarks of their respective owners.

No open-source license has been selected for the repository yet. Source availability does not automatically grant redistribution or commercial-use rights. See License Notice.