PS3 webMAN Classics Maker v2.0 - GUI Release

PSX-Place's own @jacobsson has put together a wonderful project for all the PS3 users in the scene called webMAN Classics Maker v2.0. This project started out as a tutorial to help users create self-booting XMB webMAN Classics, and has evolved into a GUI program that will do most of the work for you. With this tool, you will be able to create self-booting versions of all of you favorite PSP, PS1, PS2 and PS3 games, which will be able to play from either your HDD or USB (USB not yet tested). There are many reasons for wanting to create your own XMB webMAN Classics, including: better PS2 compatibility, starting your ISOs directly from the XMB, organizing your ISOs on the XMB, and USB device compatibility (lightguns, microphones, etc., etc.). Besides a copy webMAN Classics Maker v2.0 for Windows or Linux, you will also need to latest version of @aldostools webMAN Mod (currently at version 1.47.30). If you need any assistance with this program, click the link at the bottom of this article to be taken directly to @jacobsson's release thread, where you will be able to discuss this release and much more.

Features How to Use PKG Images Future Updates Troubleshooting Not Yet Tested Thank Yous Video Examples Old Guide

• 
  
  • Better PS2 compatibility: it prioritize BC hardware over software (PS2_EMU -> PS2_GXEMU -> PS2_NETEMU)
  • One-press-play: Starts yours ISOs directly from the XMB
  • Organize ISOs on the XMB: Looks exactly like a regular installed title on the XMB
  • USB-peripherals: Buzzers, Lightguns, Singstar, GuitarHero all work (PS2 Classics can't do this)
  • Compatible with all ISOs (PSX/PS2/PS3)
• 
  
  1. Download webman classics maker from github
  2. Download and Install the latest webMan-mod on your PS3 (hold L1 for full installation in second step)
  3. Upload or dump ISO backups of your games to the usual webman folders (PSXISO/PS2ISO etc)
  4. Find your PS3 IP-address (shows up in VHS menu of your PS3)
  5. Run Webman_Classics_Maker
     
  6. Enter the IP-address in the PS3-IP field
  7. Press Fetch to get your game list, be patient
  8. Choose a game in the list, all info will be filled in
  9. [optional] Click and swap any images such as ICON0 and PIC1 to your liking
  10. Press Build to make your new game pkg and install it on your PS3
  11. $Profit
• 
  If you want a nice icon and background image for your package, make sure to replace ICON0.PNG and PIC1.PNG (case-sensitive filenames!) inside the PKG-folder. Use paint.net and look at the file in /resources/images/ICON0.PDN
  
• 
  
  • • [DONE] A New GUI!
    • [HELP NEEDED] Port the project from Py 2.7 to Py 3.7
    • [TODO] Game meta data online scraping
    • [TODO] Image scraping functionality
    • [TODO] Embedded image cropping tool
    • [TODO] Investigate if multi-disc support possible through web commands
    • [DONE] Port the project to x64
      
    • [DONE] Make build scripts for SCETOOL and OSCETOOL (for both linux and win support)
    • [DONE] FTP GAME & ISO list generator
    • [DONE] create github-repo https://github.com/Roet-Ivar/Webman-Classics-Maker
    • [DONE] Remove python dependencies from win binaries
• 
  
  • My PS3 gives tripple beeps:
    This means the package itself has been built correctly, but the path or the iso filename is not correct, triple check it!
    
    
  • My webman game is suddenly gone from the XMB:
    Your PS3 game installed an update which overwrote your webman game folder. Use a different title_id when making the PS3 webman PKG, e.g. your PS3 game title_id = SLUS12345, then use WMUS12345 in classics maker (WM for webman, easy to distinguish)
• 
  
  • Running ISOs from USB
  • Running ISOs from network path
• 
  webMAN classics maker wouldn't exist w/o naehrwert's scetool 0.2.9 / flatz NP local license
  and @aldostools webMan-mod + PARAM.SFO.Editor
  
  Special thanks to flatz naehrwert @aldostools @kozarovv @pinky @STLcardsWS @sandungas @psykosis
• 
  
  ...
  
• 
  
  Pre-requisites: Downloads
  
  Spoiler

  • 
    
    
    • Webman source code (This guide used v1.47.09)
    • PS3 Tools Collection (This guide used v4.8.1)

  
  

  • 
    
    
    • True ancestor (This guide used v1.98)

  
  

  • 
    
    
    • Install Python 2.7.15 (32bit/x86 version), add it to your environment variables

  
  

  • 
    
    
    • Install a hex editor, preferably HxD
  Project setup: Files & structure
  
  Spoiler

  • 
    
    
    • Make a folder called MY_XMB_ISO_SHORTCUTS

  
  

  • 
    
    
    • Extract the folder \_Projects_\wm_url_launcher\ from webMAN-MOD-zip:
      \MY_XMB_ISO_SHORTCUTS\wm_url_launcher\

  
  

  • 
    
    
    • Extract the folder \tools\make_pkgs\bin\ from Aldo Tools.rar:
      \MY_XMB_ISO_SHORTCUTS\wm_url_launcher\bin\

  
  

  • 
    
    
    • Extract \tools\PARAM_SFO_Editor.exe from Aldo Tools.rar:
      \MY_XMB_ISO_SHORTCUTS\PARAM_SFO_Editor.exe
    • Extract all content from TrueAncestor_SELF_Resigner_v1.98.zip:
      \MY_XMB_ISO_SHORTCUTS\true_ancestor\
  
  ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
  LET'S START
  From here I'lll assume you have found good content ID for your package, otherwise look at psxdatacenter.
  For this example let's call it SLUS12345
  
  1. EDIT CREATE_PKG.BAT
  
  Spoiler

  Edit \_XMB_ISO_SHORTCUTS\CREATE_PKG.BAT with a text editor and replace "PKGLAUNCH" on row 15

  set CONTENTID=UP0001-PKGLAUNCH_00-0000000000000000

  with SLUS12345:
  

  set CONTENTID=UP0001-SLUS12345_00-0000000000000000

  
  
  2. EDIT PARAM.SFO
  
  Spoiler

  Edit \_XMB_ISO_SHORTCUTS\wm_url_launcher\pkg\PARAM.SFO using the PARAM_SFO_Editor.exe:
  
  

  Title id = PKGLAUNCH

  TITLE = PKG/ROM Launcher

  
  

  Title id = SLUS12345

  TITLE = Name of the game

  
  
  3. EDIT launch.txt
  
  Spoiler

  Edit \_XMB_ISO_SHORTCUTS\wm_url_launcher\pkg\USRDIR\launch.txt with a text editor and replace

  /dev_hdd0/game/HTSS00003/USRDIR/movian.self

  with

  /play.ps3/dev_hdd0/PS2ISO/nameOfTheGame.iso

  
  4. RESIGN EBOOT.BIN
  
  Spoiler

  Copy \_XMB_ISO_SHORTCUTS\wm_url_launcher\pkg\USRDIR\EBOOT.BIN
  to \MY_XMB_ISO_SHORTCUTS\true
  

  

  
  _ancestor\
  

  
  

  1. Execute resigner.exe
  2. Choose "1. Decrypt EBOOT.BIN Only" => extracts EBOOT.ELF
  3. Open EBOOT.ELF in HxD (or similar hex editor)
  4. Find "PKGLAUNCH" and edit

     0/game/PKGLAUNCH

     to

     0/game/SLUS12345

     , do this on two places
     
     
     
  5. In resigner.exe choose "3. Resign to NPDRM EBOOT" and it gives you a new EBOOT.BIN
     
  6. Replace your old EBOOT.BIN in the PKG folder with the new one
  
  5. RUN CREATE_PKG.bat
  DONE
  
  

DOWNLOAD & PSX-PLACE RELEASE THREAD:
GUIDE: Self-booting XMB Webman Classics​

 

if you open your CMD in windows and type: ping 192.168.100.142
Do you receive any packages?

yes sir i do

 

yes sir i do

Interesting. So when you use a FTP client (like filezilla) you only use the IP address w/ empty user-password right? If so, make sure user-password is empty in the Classics Maker as well.

 

Interesting. So when you use a FTP client (like filezilla) you only use the IP address w/ empty user/password right? If so, make sure user/password is empty in the Classics Maker as well.

yes this is correct , i only enter my ip address and keep username/password empty if i am using filezilla , i just checked and its connected with filezilla , i am using hen and my iso and bin/cue games format are in folders inside ps2iso , could it be i am doing something wrong ?

 

i am using hen and my iso and bin/cue games format are in folders inside ps2iso

Hmm, I have no experience using HEN unfortunately, but since filezilla works Classics Maker should theoretically also work.
I presume your game_list_data.json is not present in the classics maker root-folder since you can't connect and generate it?

Just as a test: if you we're to rename your /PS2ISO/ folder to _PS2ISO and make an empty PS2ISO -folder. Do you still get connection timeouts?

 

@Fabio2598
Hi! I tested the latest webman-mod and found that my post timing needed to be increased from 3 to 4.

I made a Webman Classics Maker 2.1.2 Beta-2 for you to test:
https://www.dropbox.com/s/9xgi4ydvnkzdtkt/webman_classics_maker_v2.1.2-beta-2_win.zip
Any improvements on your side?

@iZesshi The problem you hade with non-unicode characters should be solved in the latest release.

@Dominic363 I'm sorry but I'm out of ideas other than that you test with only one game in on the ISO-folders on your HDD, maybe give the beta-2 above a test?

@aldostools I tried the good old /ps3.play/iso_path command for the latest webman-mod and nothing happens on my side, it does not even mount the game. Any ideas what that could be about?
If you curious and want to try this you can always download the beta-2 above and add your custom webcommand to the key "webcommand" in settings/ftp_settings.cfg (it's plain JSON).

For now using this seems to work fine:
/wait.ps3?6;/mount_ps3/dev_hdd0/PS3ISO/[filepath_var];/wait.ps3?4;/play.ps3

 

@aldostools I tried the good old /ps3.play/iso_path command for the latest webman-mod and nothing happens on my side, it does not even mount the game. Any ideas what that could be about?
If you curious and want to try this you can always download the beta-2 above and add your custom webcommand to the key "webcommand" in settings/ftp_settings.cfg (it's plain JSON).

For now using this seems to work fine:
/wait.ps3?6;/mount_ps3/dev_hdd0/PS3ISO/[filepath_var];/wait.ps3?4;/play.ps3

The web command /play.ps3 is designed to execute it from XMB.

If you execute it from a browser on the PC or smartphone it should work fine.

The issue is that the web command is being called from an EBOOT and the plugin detects it as trying to mount a game from IN-GAME. That's why the first /wait.ps3 is needed: to give some time to return to XMB.

I don't think you need the second /wait.ps3 though. The following command should work too:
/wait.ps3?6;/play_ps3/dev_hdd0/PS3ISO/[filepath_var]

 

The web command /play.ps3 is designed to execute it from XMB.

If you execute it from a browser on the PC or smartphone it should work fine.

The issue is that the web command is being called from an EBOOT and the plugin detects it as trying to mount a game from IN-GAME. That's why the first /wait.ps3 is needed: to give some time to return to XMB.

I don't think you need the second /wait.ps3 though. The following command should work too:
/wait.ps3?6;/play_ps3/dev_hdd0/PS3ISO/[filepath_var]

I actually removed the second wait now to test and it only mounts, never starts the game.
This has been a problem since webMan-mod v1.47.15, which made my pkgs to never work without manual delays again (don't mistake this for being a complaint, just wanted state the timeline).

 

I actually removed the second wait now to test and it only mounts, never starts the game.
This has been a problem since webMan-mod v1.47.15, which made my pkgs to never work without manual delays again (don't mistake this for being a complaint, just wanted state the timeline).

I have submitted a new commit that waits for return to XMB before execute /play.ps3<game-path>

I also added the new web command: /wait.ps3?xmb which is more accurate than /wait.ps3?6

BTW I tried your release 2.1.2-beta-2 and I couldn't use it at all.

The FTP connected fine to my PS3, but the game list never filled (the debug screen showed various errors in py)

Also I selected the category PS3 and after pressing the Fetch button, the debug dialog started to show loading the games from other categories (e.g. PSX)

 

I have submitted a new commit that waits for return to XMB before execute /play.ps3<game-path>

I also added the new web command: /wait.ps3?xmb which is more accurate than /wait.ps3?6

BTW I tried your release 2.1.2-beta-2 and I couldn't use it at all.

The FTP connected fine to my PS3, but the game list never filled (the debug screen showed various errors in py)

Also I selected the category PS3 and after pressing the Fetch button, the debug dialog started to show loading the games from other categories (e.g. PSX)

Nice, I'll replace the plugin and test during the day!
I'm sorry to hear it didn't work for you. Any chance you could share your debug errors? I'm in desperate need of error logs

TEST1:
updated my webftp_server.sprx from latest webMAN-MOD-master\_Projects_\updater\update\dev_hdd0\plugins\webftp_server.sprx

The command /wait.ps3?xmb;/mount_ps3/dev_hdd0/PS3ISO/ISO_PATH;/wait.ps3?4;/play.ps3
seems to work now, nice!

TEST2:
/wait.ps3?xmb;/play.ps3/dev_hdd0/PS3ISO/ISO_PATH
always mounts and sometimes even starts, most sometimes it only mounts.
The /play.ps3-command works but is sometimes blocked.

Conclusion
After many tests I can conclude that the last delay (;/ps3.wait?4), the one before ;/ps3.play is crucial for reliability. I think the reason is that the play-command is getting blocked sometimes when XMB is busy.

Thank you so much for the support!

 

Nice, I'll replace the plugin and test during the day!
I'm sorry to hear it didn't work for you. Any chance you could share your debug errors? I'm in desperate need of error logs

TEST1:
updated my webftp_server.sprx from latest webMAN-MOD-master\_Projects_\updater\update\dev_hdd0\plugins\webftp_server.sprx

The command /wait.ps3?xmb;/mount_ps3/dev_hdd0/PS3ISO/ISO_PATH;/wait.ps3?4;/play.ps3
seems to work now, nice!

TEST2:
/wait.ps3?xmb;/play.ps3/dev_hdd0/PS3ISO/ISO_PATH
always mounts and sometimes even starts, most sometimes it only mounts.
The /play.ps3-command works but is sometimes blocked.

Conclusion
After many tests I can conclude that the last delay (;/ps3.wait?4), the one before ;/ps3.play is crucial for reliability. I think the reason is that the play-command is getting blocked sometimes when XMB is busy.

Thank you so much for the support!

Ok. At least it's working now. Have you tried this?
/mount_ps3/dev_hdd0/PS3ISO/ISO_PATH;/wait.ps3?xmb;/play.ps3

In theory it should take less time to start, because the mount is performed during the wait time to return to XMB.

 

Ok. At least it's working now. Have you tried this?
/mount_ps3/dev_hdd0/PS3ISO/ISO_PATH;/wait.ps3?xmb;/play.ps3

In theory it should take less time to start, because the mount is performed during the wait time to return to XMB.

No actually I did not think of that combo, I'll give it a go and report back!
By the way, any chance I could get that error log of yours? Sorry for nagging =)

 

By the way, any chance I could get that error log of yours? Sorry for nagging =)

BTW Actually I was fetching PSP and the game above is a PS3 ISO

 

@aldostools thank you so much for this, there seem to be something going with the parsing of that ISO file. Alphabetically what comes after Prince of Persia in your PS3 games and what size does it have?

Also, you learn so much from this kind of feedback. That filter "PSP" you're using, it's actually only a filter for fetched games stored on your computer.

As of now the fetch-button looks FTPs through all of your games stored on the PS3, but I love the idea of letting that filter control both what to fetch and what to show.

EDIT:
Here is an updated build (BETA-4):
* should have better error-handling during FTP fetch (theoretically it should skip ISOs that gives bad file descriptors)

* I implemented the FTP fetch filters from your suggestion

https://www.dropbox.com/s/83axb1lf489b3pg/webman_classics_maker_v2.1.2-beta-4_win.zip?dl=0

 

@aldostools thank you so much for this, there seem to be something going with the parsing of that ISO file. Alphabetically what comes after Prince of Persia in your PS3 games and what size does it have?

Also, you learn so much from this kind of feedback. That filter "PSP" you're using, it's actually only a filter for fetched games stored on your computer.

As of now the fetch-button looks FTPs through all of your games stored on the PS3, but I love the idea of letting that filter control both what to fetch and what to show.

EDIT:
Here is an updated build (BETA-4):
* should have better error-handling during FTP fetch (theoretically it should skip ISOs that gives bad file descriptors)

* I implemented the FTP fetch filters from your suggestion

https://www.dropbox.com/s/83axb1lf489b3pg/webman_classics_maker_v2.1.2-beta-4_win.zip

Any chance you could reupload @jacobsson ?
The link is dead. Thanks

 

@aldostools and

Any chance you could reupload @jacobsson ?
The link is dead. Thanks

Sorry, this should work:
https://www.dropbox.com/s/83axb1lf489b3pg/webman_classics_maker_v2.1.2-beta-4_win.zip?dl=0

 

@aldostools @jacobsson
After reading Aldo's comments above this is the command I tried with the latest beta, in theory it should work but for some reason it still doesn't start the game. It loads it everytime though

"/wait.ps3?xmb;/mount_ps3/[filepath_var];/wait.ps3?xmb;/play.ps3"

I think I typed the command right but I thought I should post it in case I did something wrong

Ps: Love the new fetch filter options btw, saves a lot of time specially when testing

 

@aldostools @jacobsson
After reading Aldo's comments above this is the command I tried with the latest beta, in theory it should work but for some reason it still doesn't start the game. It loads it everytime though

"/wait.ps3?xmb;/mount_ps3/[filepath_var];/wait.ps3?xmb;/play.ps3"

I think I typed the command right but I thought I should post it in case I did something wrong

Ps: Love the new fetch filter options btw, saves a lot of time specially when testing

Hi man, I'm glad the filter helps! I've actually never had consistent results changing the second wait to "xmb". Good news is If it mounts it at least means the custom command work, that's nice!

Let's increase the second delay to 8s just before the play/start command:
/wait.ps3?xmb;/mount_ps3/[filepath_var];/wait.ps3?8;/play.ps3

Any difference?

 

Hi man, I'm glad the filter helps! I've actually never had consistent results changing the second wait to "xmb". Good news is If it mounts it at least means the custom command work, that's nice!

Let's increase the second delay to 8s just before the play/start command:
/wait.ps3?xmb;/mount_ps3/[filepath_var];/wait.ps3?8;/play.ps3

Any difference?

Sorry for the delay, work's been mad the past few days. That seems to work, but the delay is massive between mounting and actually launching the game. I'm gonna test it more when I get the time but that's gonna take a while.

 

Sorry for the delay, work's been mad the past few days. That seems to work, but the delay is massive between mounting and actually launching the game. I'm gonna test it more when I get the time but that's gonna take a while.

Interesting!
I think your HDDs random read speed might be the limiter here, just a guess though, how many games does xmb have to load during the start of your webman classic?
By the way, are you using any extra plugins that have to load in the background?

 

I followed all steps and everything is fine. However I can´t detect any difference about
compatibility ( PS2 games on PS3 ), as I got previously.
Is there any way to improve PS2 games resolution, using this tool ?

Regards