PARAM.HIS

Description

This file is used to display the changelog texts of a HDD game (category HG), game patches (category GD with APP_VER), and gamedata (category GD without APP_VER). Texts are displayed under the option "Update History" when pressing triangle over his icon.

Others category : Option not available on XMB but text is displayed during download.

PARAM.HIP files are the "source" file, contained in the root of a Install_Package.pkg. When the package is installed the system adds at the beggining of the "source" file 10 bytes containing his timestamp (date and time when is installed), and copyes it in the install folder as PARAM.HIS.

PARAM.HIS files can be updated by consecutive installations of more .HIP files over the same old .HIS file, this adds the same structure severall times separated by his timestamps and a blank row when displayed in XMB.

Severall PARAM_xx.HIP files can be included in a .pkg for different languages by adding a number to the end of the filename (e.g. PARAM_16.HIP for polish language), the system will install only the one that matches the language settings of the user, or the default PARAM.HIP if no other is applicable.

By adding a PARAM.HIS inside a .PKG (this is not the standard way how its supposed to work) the system manages the file as any "normal" file and copyes it to the install folder without making any file conversion neither updating his timestamp, this can be used to add it to the first release of a homebrew

• Game examples (using PARAM.HIP)
  • HATSUNE MIKU Project Diva (NPJB00047) - patch 1.01
  • Catherine (BLJM60215) - patch 1.01

(there are others more recents but the two above give the different diplays: Catherine .HIP is display on Game Data utility and Hatsune .HIP is diplay on game folder.

• Homebrew examples (using PARAM.HIP)
  • None yet

• Homebrew examples (using PARAM.HIS)
  • Paintown 3.5 by Markus95
  • Solar 4.1 by Condorstrike

Internal Structures

PARAM.HIP

This structure is repeated several times inside the file, one time for each text row, the controll byte "0A" displaces text to the next row.

Description	Lenght	Example	Conversion	Example Converted	Notes
Text Line	variable	52 6F 77 20 31	utf-8	Row 1
Line Feed	1 byte	0A			Control byte to break the text line

PARAM.HIS

This structure is repeated severall times inside the file, one time for each PARAM.HIP included in the file.

Description	Lenght	Example	Conversion	Example Converted	Notes
Timestamp Mark	1 byte	01			Marks the start point of a Timestamp
Timestamp	8 bytes	00 00 00 00 4E F6 59 70	Decimal ---> Unix time	1324767600 ---> 2011/12/25 00:00
PARAM.HIP Mark	1 byte	02			Marks the start point of a PARAM.HIP
PARAM.HIP	variable				Raw PARAM.HIP

Hexadecimal to Decimal online [conversor]

Decimal to Unix Timestamp online [conversor]

Example of a "hand made" [PARAM.HIS] that simulates 3 patches with 3 text rows each, installed in 3 different years, usefull to copy-paste it inside an installed patch folder (GD category) or a game (HG category) to understand how the .HIP's are cummulated inside a .HIS

ASCII art

Because there are a lot of text rows availables it can be made ASCII pictures and logos, the trick here is to first use some online ASCII converter like [this one] . The output text of this conversors will not be displayed correctly in PS3 XMB

There is needed to represent this text in the PC using the official fonts from the firmware (US/Europe fonts are in the path dev_flash\data\font\SCE-PS3-RD-R-LATIN.TTF).

Install this font in the PC, open some image or text editor (like photoshop or gimp), paste the text and correct the widths by adding spaces to display it properly.

Example of a "hand made" [PARAM.HIS] with the PS3DEV logo and a strange guy under it o0.

Tools

HIP2HIS from Deroad: This app simply convert a PARAM.HIP file to PARAM.HIS http://www.mediafire.com/?rv6jajz3nfy53iw

make_his by jjolano: Generates a PARAM.HIS file from a Unix-formatted text file https://github.com/jjolano/make_his