Seven and a half years...

[TechMaster]

Well, I certainly hope I haven't broken any records with that one.

Hi guys. How's everyone doing?

As for myself, I'm alright. I'm working in Taiwan as an engineer right now (crummy pay compared to NA, good experience and food though). Yes, I'm still playing games, although it has been a while since my last SNES/SFC game.

On a side note, I'm glad my password actually works. My old email is dead and there was basically no way for me to retrieve it if I really forgot it (like my GameFAQs account, for example).

[Nightcrawler]

Hey Techmaster! Great to see you again. That was some break you took.

Glad to hear you're well. What type of engineering work are you doing?

Make sure you update your profile with the new e-mail address so you can come back sooner than seven years this time! 

What games have you been playing recently?

[TechMaster]

Hey Techmaster! Great to see you again. That was some break you took.

Hi Nightcrawler! Yeah, I practically took a break from almost all forums I used to attend actually.

Glad to hear you're well. What type of engineering work are you doing?

My work is related to electronics engineering and applications. I design some of the hardware (not the IC, but hardware as a system) and write firmware for stuff. Although recently I've been shifting more towards testing. The focus is wireless controls and data-acquisition application systems development.

I also play around with 3D parametric modeling software as personal interest on my own spare time though.

Make sure you update your profile with the new e-mail address so you can come back sooner than seven years this time!

Oh of course. I updated it when I was able to log in. 

What games have you been playing recently?

Asides from new flash games I play from time to time, the biggest rpg title I've played recently would be Ys7 for PC. I bought it about half a year ago and finally decided to try it out.

[Nightcrawler]

My work is related to electronics engineering and applications. I design some of the hardware (not the IC, but hardware as a system) and write firmware for stuff. Although recently I've been shifting more towards testing. The focus is wireless controls and data-acquisition application systems development.

What type of products are you developing? What processors are you working with for firmware? I was an electrical engineer for 10 years myself and have since gotten a new firmware only position and left the hardware design and soldering behind. I don't miss it. I much prefer the software realm. Firmware also comes with good job security since you still need the intimate hardware and product knowledge as opposed to general software work which can be outsourced easily.

I also play around with 3D parametric modeling software as personal interest on my own spare time though.

That sounds interesting. I never really got into any modeling like that. Is parametric modeling a bit in the mechanical engineering direction?

Asides from new flash games I play from time to time, the biggest rpg title I've played recently would be Ys7 for PC. I bought it about half a year ago and finally decided to try it out.

How did you like that? I've sampled a number of Ys games, but never quite had the time to really play through them. When I thought about hammering down and starting with Ys 1, I couldn't decipher which of the many versions I wanted to start with! I think Ys has been remade more times than Final Fantasy!

[TechMaster]

What type of products are you developing? What processors are you working with for firmware? I was an electrical engineer for 10 years myself and have since gotten a new firmware only position and left the hardware design and soldering behind. I don't miss it. I much prefer the software realm. Firmware also comes with good job security since you still need the intimate hardware and product knowledge as opposed to general software work which can be outsourced easily.

One product I was heavy into developing was a LED streetlight control and data acquisition backbone system based on 802.15.4. I've mainly used 8051 and PIC (mainly in assembly), but in the last 2 years I've been shifting to 32bit risc MCUs (writing in C). I also write some small programs to handle data processing for test results in C#. I do still perform some hardware design, but it is mostly suggestions made to the actual hardware engineer. I still solder from time to time, but only for small changes in design (like, I wouldn't be soldering parts for a whole PCB board) or fixing a broken board. I do play around with schematic and PCB design software from time to time, however.

That sounds interesting. I never really got into any modeling like that. Is parametric modeling a bit in the mechanical engineering direction?

Parametric modeling is very much mechanical modeling in 3D with dimensions and rules. You model stuff in precise dimensions (instead of 'look' alike, you actually have to draw stuff in real length and width) in parts using different rules  called constraints (like parallel, midline, vertical, horizontal, intersect, etc), then you can assemble parts together to make an assembly. And yes, making a bike and see how all the gears work when you paddle in real life is entirely possible.

As far as I know, it is used a lot in mechanical product designs (so yeah, it can go very deep into mechanical engineering). Of course, making a valid design (say, an engine, for example) requires extensive mechanical engineering knowledge. Even something say, a hook, requires knowledge in how material work under certain stress. However, making something like a custom plastic case for your electrical product, however, doesn't. So, it really depends on how you use it.

How did you like that? I've sampled a number of Ys games, but never quite had the time to really play through them. When I thought about hammering down and starting with Ys 1, I couldn't decipher which of the many versions I wanted to start with! I think Ys has been remade more times than Final Fantasy!

I think Ys 7 is good. I just started playing it (beat like, 4 bosses so far), but it utilized some new systems (like the team system) which I think they also used in the Ys4 remake they released last year. Unlike Ys4, however, the gameplay still looks like the old Ys style (ie. birds eye view with chibi characters).

Here's my brief history with the other Ys games... (it wasn't all good though)

Ys1: I played the PC remake, but then hit a brick wall at a tough boss and never was able to advance. (yes I'm at max levels and still fails, trying to bump into bosses was never a great way to fight)
Ys2: I own the PC remake (from bundle), but I never started the game (I wanted to beat Ys1 first).
Ys3: I beat the game through emulation on the genesis version. I own the Oath in Felghana remake, but the game never was able to start on my Win 7.... 
Ys4: I emulated the game on SFC with AGTP's translation, but was never able to finish it. (I think I got stuck on something)
Ys5: I beat the game through emulation before the full translation. I wonder if I should try it again with the translation this time XD.
Ys6: I own it on PC but never beat it due to a graphic bug near the later half of the game (and became too lazy to replay the whole game again).
Ys Origin: I own the PC version and beat the game with the female main character.

[Nightcrawler]

Sounds very similar to the work that I have done. I have worked on all of those including assembly for 8-bit and 16-bit PICs. For the 32-bit RISC arena, I work with AVR32s from Atmel. I also code in-house utilities in C#. Although our product industries differ. My work is in laboratory instrumentation. I used to do portable hand-held instrumentation, but now I am doing the larger expensive stuff that fortune 500 companies use in their labs.

Have you ever tried your hand at ROM hacking? You'd probably pick it up pretty easily with that background.

Weren't there multiple PC remakes for Ys 1+2?

I've played a little of the original Ys I+II for PCE-CD, Ys 3 for SNES,  and Ys 6 for PS2. I just dabbled in them for a few hours to know what all the fuss was about for the Ys series. I had later planned to play the first two for real, took a brief look at one of the older PC remakes, but just never did start playing. Perhaps I will get to it yet one of these days as you've reminded me of the series.

[TechMaster]

Sounds very similar to the work that I have done. I have worked on all of those including assembly for 8-bit and 16-bit PICs. For the 32-bit RISC arena, I work with AVR32s from Atmel. I also code in-house utilities in C#. Although our product industries differ. My work is in laboratory instrumentation. I used to do portable hand-held instrumentation, but now I am doing the larger expensive stuff that fortune 500 companies use in their labs.

Interesting. I assume lots of ADCs and DSPs being done within these instruments (although I do understand these can be very diverse)? Not completely related, but I've also worked with sensors in terms of data acquisition. Of course, most of these aren't accurate enough for labs.

The 32-bit MCU I use is a MCU bundled with the 805.15.4 radio from NXP. My colleague and me had to do a big transition this year because NXP decided to pull the plug on the MCU we were developing in so they can promote their new one. I still like Microchip's policy about keeping their products alive for loooooong periods of time.

On a side note about Microchip. There's a burger chain from Japan in Taiwan called MOS Burger. The logo looks very similar to Microchip except for the rounded edges and inverted color.

Have you ever tried your hand at ROM hacking? You'd probably pick it up pretty easily with that background.

I think I tried a bit in high school. You can guess how hard I hit the brick wall with that. Back then I didn't have the experience I have now. Maybe I'll read about it a bit.

Weren't there multiple PC remakes for Ys 1+2?

There probably was. My copy is in the Vista era, so it is not that old. I think it is pretty close to the Steam version, except it is in Chinese. Well, at least it is playable. Definitely better than The Oath in Felghana remake that isn't.

Back Cover: http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v43/techys/WP_001090.jpg

Manual: http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v43/techys/WP_001091.jpg

DVD: http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v43/techys/WP_001092.jpg

[Nightcrawler]

Yes, plenty of ADCs and signal processing. A good portion of code utilizes calculus for complex control loops and what not. Thankfully, I have a scientist at my disposal there to assist with some of the more complicated algorithms. It can really be a brain burner sometimes, especially since I did not really utilize math at that level in my previous job.

Microchip is certainly nice in the part longevity department. They also do a good job with new parts being backwards compatible, which was ideal for my last company as the product life-cycle was many years.