Hacking How does the battery-saving feature works?

[adrian2040]

And how much battery life can it save?

 

[Ferrariman]

Team Cyclops is trying to keep how it works under wraps. It can save up to an hour of gameplay!

 

[adrian2040]

Then, what is noticeable when using the feature while playing roms? How does it affect gameplay? I'm still awaiting for CycloDS Evolution to arrive, but I want to know if I should use the feature or not.

 

[unz]

The only noticeable thing about the new battery saver feature, is that it lets you use your DS about an hour longer before you have to recharge it.

That's all - it's a very subtle change, but it makes a big difference over time. It doesn't affect gameplay, it just uses the battery's power more efficiently.

Should you use battery saver? Try doing some comparison testing once your Cyclo arrives and make your own mind up.

 

[paul3100]

battery saver?

For the DS?never seen that before..

paul

 

[Rayder]

Actually, I noticed about a 3 hour increase in battery life, but then again I have a 2000mah battery in my DSlite. Other than the extra battery life, I haven't encountered any difference, though I have heard of a few occasions where there were problems. Something about the end of TWEWY locking up or something......just turn battery saver mode off for any game you may have problems with.....as of 1.5b4 it is an option to enable or disable it through the settings menu.

They say at the CycloDS forums that battery life will vary depending on the game you're playing and the backlight level you use, and is especially noticeable when using sleep mode. They won't explain how it works because they want to prolong exclusivity of the function for as long as possible before other carts add it to there feature list. But I'll tell ya, compared to the R4 anyway, the Cyclo sucked on the battery hard before the battery saver mode was introduced. Now it's more on par with it.

 

[berkley]

it's a secret how it works but here are some facts about it

BATTERY TEST:

Conditions:
* Enamel Navy Nintendo DS Lite (EUR)
* The Legend of Zelda: Phantom Hourglass (U) Game Card
* CycloDS Evolution FW v1.5B2 (HW v1.1) and The Legend of Zelda: Phantom Hourglass (U) ROM
* EZ-Flash 3-in-1 (Set to LOW Rumble with the CycloDS Evolution FW v1.5B2)
* SanDisk 8GB Class 4 MicroSDHC
* Kingston 2GB Made in Japan MicroSD

Nintendo DS Lite Conditions: Test turning on The Legend of Zelda: Phantom Hourglass (U) Game Card or CycloDS Evolution FW v1.5B2 with The Legend of Zelda: Phantom Hourglass (U) ROM and SanDisk 8GB Class 4 MicroSDHC and Kingston 2GB Made in Japan MicroSD at Full Brightness and Volume, and leaving it looping without pressing any buttons, where time starts from a fully charged Green Power LED and stops as soon as the Nintendo DS turns itself off when the battery is drained, alternating tests with the Nintendo DS Lite Dust Cover or an EZ-Flash 3-in-1.


Test 1:
The Legend of Zelda: Phantom Hourglass (U) Game Card and Nintendo DS Lite Dust Cover.
Time started: 23:06 / 11:06PM
Time ended: 03:40 / 3:40AM
Total time: 4 Hours 34 Minutes

Test 2:
The Legend of Zelda: Phantom Hourglass (U) Game Card and EZ-Flash 3-in-1.
Time started: 02:34 / 2:34AM
Time ended: 06:52 / 6:52AM
Total time: 4 Hours 18 Minutes

Test 3:
CycloDS Evolution FW v1.5B2 and SanDisk 8GB Class 4 MicroSDHC with The Legend of Zelda: Phantom Hourglass (U) ROM and Nintendo DS Lite Dust Cover.
Time started: 16:00 / 4:00PM
Time ended: 19:55 / 7:55PM
Total time: 3 Hours 55 Minutes

Test 4:
CycloDS Evolution FW v1.5B2 and SanDisk 8GB Class 4 MicroSDHC with The Legend of Zelda: Phantom Hourglass (U) ROM and EZ-Flash 3-in-1 with Rumble set to Low.
Time started: 01:02 / 1:02AM
Time ended: 04:43 / 4:43AM
Total time: 3 Hours 41 Minutes

Test 5:
CycloDS Evolution FW v1.5B3 with Experimental Battery Saver Mode Enabled and SanDisk 8GB Class 4 MicroSDHC with The Legend of Zelda: Phantom Hourglass (U) ROM and Nintendo DS Lite Dust Cover.
Time started: 21:43 / 9:43PM
Time ended: 01:43 / 1:43:AM
Total time: 4 Hours


**EDIT**
I forgot to check when it went red, so the test is for when the DS turns itself off
BTW, I've used the DS a fair bit. It's relatively new, but not necessarily brand new. I think an 8GB MicroSDHC would be a good benchmark, since it does use more power, to give the MicroSDHC users, and the MicroSD users some idea. I'll use a 2GB Made in Japan Kingston MicroSD as well to redo the CycloDS Evolution tests when the 8GB MicroSDHC tests are done.. I hope the battery doesn't change much if it is drained to empty and charged to full again.

If the EZ-Flash 3-in-1 does not have much of an effect on the original Phantom Hourglass Game Card but has an effect on the CycloDS Evolution, I'll redo some tests with the Rumble set to Disabled instead of Low..

**EDIT**
During Test 3, when the LED went Red, I tried to pick up my DS Lite and clumsily the DS Lite fell on the floor, and the game crashed :S I did a very quick power cycle and held L+R to go straight back into the game to continue flushing out the battery. I hope that didn't disturb the test results by a noticeable margin, and I'll redo the test after Test 4 :S I also subtracted a minute from the time ended.
If I'm up to it at the end, I can redo Test 1 as well since I charged the DS Lite to full from a little before a Red LED approximately as opposed to a drained and empty battery like the other tests..

**EDIT**
I redid test 1 and test 3 to get accurate results on par with the other tests, and I scrapped the 2GB MicroSD test. I guess it's fair to say that the EZ-Flash 3-in-1 does not take much power all things considered, and that it's a good idea to remember that when the Power LED goes red, it does not mean the battery is just about to run out, but that the battery has about ~40 or more left!

**EDIT**
The test was redone on the CycloDS Evolution with the new CycloDS Evolution v1.5B3 Experimental Battery Saver Mode Feature as Test 5.

Link to the post here

 

[baz8755]

Having upgraded from an R4DS about a month or so ago I did notice quite a dramatic decrease in battery life.

I have now been running with the Battery Save enabled and cannot really see that much of an improvement

I am sure it is not my battery as I have 2 batterys that I swap regularly and both are offering similar performance.

 

[War]

I've noticed that my DS lasts what seems (to me) to be a much longer time.

 

[Slowking]

Actually, I noticed about a 3 hour increase in battery life, but then again I have a 2000mah battery in my DSlite.

Where did you get it? I only found some at DX and those are more 1000mah-ish since chinese batterys are half the capacity they are supposed to be most of the time.

And @topic
TWEWY hangs at the Intro with a 8GB Sandisk UltraII but works but works with an 1GB Kingston in battery safer mode. But that's the only gae that makes problems. Even the castlevanias work.

 

[DeMoN]

The battery saving feature really did work (in my limited experience), unfortunately I can not get GBA support to work on the beta firmware so I'm stuck with 1.41. Oh well.