Gaming Game Boy Micro sleeping mode (sort of)

[sasquatchzzz]

Hi everyone, I'm kinda new here.
So whatever, I recently bought GBM and found out an interesting thing. When you press select + l + r the screen becomes black and select/start buttons starts to flash blue. Wonder what that means? Is it some sort of sleeping mode? Oh, after you push any other button everything comes back to normal.

 

[MSaki]

Hi everyone, I'm kinda new here.
So whatever, I recently bought GBM and found out an interesting thing. When you press select + l + r the screen becomes black and select/start buttons starts to flash blue. Wonder what that means? Is it some sort of sleeping mode? Oh, after you push any other button everything comes back to normal.

yes that is sleep mode congrats on micro i gou one to


also hold L and click the volume buttons to change brightness.

i got a wireless adapter for it asap as the cable connector was to annoying.

also some games have secret mode for gbm cant remember exzactly what ones.

well have fun.

 

[sasquatchzzz]

I find this a bit strange, because I have never read about GBM sleep mode anywhere before, and anywhere I asked, people just denied that thing like this exist.

 

[MSaki]

I find this a bit strange, because I have never read about GBM sleep mode anywhere before, and anywhere I asked, people just denied that thing like this exist.

well it does.

plus there were 2 models of gameboy micro sent out in waves the only difference i noticed was the battery is a bit bigger in the first ver than second and second has lower brightness aka only 3 levels.

way a while back i saw a mobo scan of it being a lil not much but a lil smaller in the second wave :/

really need those mobo scans again...

anyways enjoy the info.

(edit: just checked second fleet was bundled with mother 3 or play yan )
(while first was just non bundled nes classic version and silver and black.)

 

[Psyfira]

I find this a bit strange, because I have never read about GBM sleep mode anywhere before, and anywhere I asked, people just denied that thing like this exist.

It's the game cartridge, not the Micro. If you put it in an oldskool GBA it'll do the same thing.

 

[jesterscourt]

Does sleep mode really work with flashcards such as the EZFlash IV?

 

[Deleted-236924]

I find this a bit strange, because I have never read about GBM sleep mode anywhere before, and anywhere I asked, people just denied that thing like this exist.

It's the game cartridge, not the Micro. If you put it in an oldskool GBA it'll do the same thing.

Because the cartridge is programmed to make the Micro's start and select buttons flash on and off.

 

[thaddius]

I find this a bit strange, because I have never read about GBM sleep mode anywhere before, and anywhere I asked, people just denied that thing like this exist.

It's the game cartridge, not the Micro. If you put it in an oldskool GBA it'll do the same thing.

Because the cartridge is programmed to make the Micro's start and select buttons flash on and off.

I think that might just be a symptom of the Micro being programmed to do that when it's put into sleep mode.

 

[DanTheManMS]

A good test would be to try Golden Sun, one of the earliest GBA games. Enter sleep mode from the in-game Start menu and see how the GBM reacts. That will at least tell us if it's the game specifically flashing the lights in sleep mode or if the GBM is doing it by itself.

I would be curious to know if the GBM has a feature to put games in sleep mode even for games that don't explicitly support it. My suspicion is that this isn't possible or the later GBA SP models would include such a function when closing the lid.

Related to sleep mode (but not specifically GBM), if you want to add sleep mode support to a game, try Dwedit's tool to do that: http://www.pocketheaven.com/ph/boards/viewtopic.php?t=5797

 

[Deleted-236924]

or the later GBA SP models would include such a function when closing the lid.

There isn't much place in the top screen to permit that.

 

[thaddius]

A good test would be to try Golden Sun, one of the earliest GBA games. Enter sleep mode from the in-game Start menu and see how the GBM reacts. That will at least tell us if it's the game specifically flashing the lights in sleep mode or if the GBM is doing it by itself.

I tried this out for a lark.

I attempted it with Super Dodgeball Advance and Golden Sun (both from 2001) on a 20th Anniversary micro as well as an all black model from Japan. Neither went into sleep mode when Select, L and R were pressed simultaneously during gameplay.

Just to be sure I tried some late GBA games like Sigma Star Saga and Drill Dozer (both from 2005) and was unable to put the GBM to sleep by pressing Select, L and R. For games that do have sleep mode though, that button combination does seem to the be one of choice to get the system to wake up from sleep mode as no one will accidentally hit all three when, say, putting it into your pocket.

I suspect that the game(s) that the OP was using has the ability to go into sleep mode on the fly when those buttons are pressed, not the GBM.

 

[libertyernie]

Official Nintendo games from later on (like Super Mario Bros 3 and Drill Dozer) have a sleep mode built-in, but you need to access it from the menu. You can also patch a sleep mode into any game with certain patches (because the built-in one doesn't work with the EZ-IV), and this is what the Select+L+R is doing. Also, emulators for the GBA, like Goomba, have sleep modes too.
I believe the two blinking lights is just what the Micro does to let you know it's in sleep mode.

 

[DanTheManMS]

Thaddius, thanks for testing. I was actually more curious about the flashing lights. If you enter sleep mode normally in Golden Sun (must be done via the Start menu in-game), do the lights flash or not? libertyernie's reply indicates to me that they do, even for games that came out way before the Micro was ever released.

 

[junn]

tried it.golden sun blinks but castlevania COM doesn't.

Spoiler

 

[thaddius]

Thaddius, thanks for testing. I was actually more curious about the flashing lights. If you enter sleep mode normally in Golden Sun (must be done via the Start menu in-game), do the lights flash or not? libertyernie's reply indicates to me that they do, even for games that came out way before the Micro was ever released.
Oh certainly. I just tested Golden Sun and it blinks when you put it in sleep mode. Sorry, I guess I misunderstood.

As I mentioned above, the flashing isn't programmed into the carts, it's what the micro is programmed to do when it's put into sleep mode by a game.
QUOTE(junn @ Sep 8 2011, 03:09 AM) tried it.golden sun blinks but castlevania COM doesn't.

Just to clarify, Castlevania COM doesn't blink because it doesn't have a sleep mode, right? I couldn't find a sleep mode in it.

 

[junn]

Thaddius, thanks for testing. I was actually more curious about the flashing lights. If you enter sleep mode normally in Golden Sun (must be done via the Start menu in-game), do the lights flash or not? libertyernie's reply indicates to me that they do, even for games that came out way before the Micro was ever released.
Oh certainly. I just tested Golden Sun and it blinks when you put it in sleep mode. Sorry, I guess I misunderstood.

As I mentioned above, the flashing isn't programmed into the carts, it's what the micro is programmed to do when it's put into sleep mode by a game.
QUOTE(junn @ Sep 8 2011, 03:09 AM) tried it.golden sun blinks but castlevania COM doesn't.

Just to clarify, Castlevania COM doesn't blink because it doesn't have a sleep mode, right? I couldn't find a sleep mode in it.

i'll say yes and it seems to only work on Golden sun, btw,Castlevania COTM was released couple of months early than GS.
the L+R+select sleep mode on Golden sun cart also works on GBA,GBA SP and DS lite,not just on micro.

 

[DanTheManMS]

i'll say yes and it seems to only work on Golden sun, btw,Castlevania COTM was released couple of months early than GS.
the L+R+select sleep mode on Golden sun cart also works on GBA,GBA SP and DS lite,not just on micro.

Are you absolutely sure your rom isn't being patched somewhere? My official Golden Sun cartridge, when played on my GBA, SP, and DS (Phat) do not respond to that button combination. Sleep mode can *only* be entered through the Start menu in-game.

On a side note, I don't know about COM, and earlier I didn't recognize the acronym so I didn't realize it was Circle of the Moon. You're right, that was one of the launch titles so it would have come out before GS.

 

[Thesolcity]

The official Boktai 2 has a sleep mode on it....I used to do it to my SP all the time.

 

[thaddius]

The official Boktai 2 has a sleep mode on it.

Said sleep mode cannot be activated by pressing L, R and Select simultaneously though. It's accessed through the start menu.

 

[junn]

i'll say yes and it seems to only work on Golden sun, btw,Castlevania COTM was released couple of months early than GS.
the L+R+select sleep mode on Golden sun cart also works on GBA,GBA SP and DS lite,not just on micro.

Are you absolutely sure your rom isn't being patched somewhere? My official Golden Sun cartridge, when played on my GBA, SP, and DS (Phat) do not respond to that button combination. Sleep mode can *only* be entered through the Start menu in-game.

On a side note, I don't know about COM, and earlier I didn't recognize the acronym so I didn't realize it was Circle of the Moon. You're right, that was one of the launch titles so it would have come out before GS.

sorry,but what i have is a retail Golden Sun: the lost age (2003) cart.
i thought it was the 1st Golden Sun (i recall i gave it away & a DS phat to a relative.)
anyhow,the sleep mode works on it.tested it on the handhelds you see in the pic.

Spoiler