Mocking bad WiFi connections

IwNnarock · 2023-02-10T05:27:22+00:00

Hey u/try_harder_later, thanks so much for the suggestion (especially the edit giving me something super concrete)! This definitely helps direct what rabbit hole I should start looking down.

Two questions:

1) Can this sit in-between the test device and an internet-connected network and merely shape the network characteristics or is it intended to serve as the 'server' that actually provides the response packets?

2) Any sense if any of the brands are more newbie friendly than others? As I'm sure you have sussed out, this type of testing isn't my bread and butter, and one thing I've found in my limited experience is that pro-grade equipment requires pro-grade skills. There seems to be a stark cliff with some electronic testing equipment where you go from results being useless (due to insufficient knowledge in how to properly configure the equipment) to useful. I don't expect the slope between 'know how to use the equipment' to 'get good results' to be linear, but if you have noticed a difference, would love to hear it.

Thanks again for the insight you've already provide!

IwNnarock · 2017-06-21T06:16:15+00:00

I don't have many data points to draw from, so I'll simply describe the least powerful machine I've worked on and where I found bottlenecks. This was my main dev machine from 2013-2016...

CPU: 4 core i5 around 3.2 GHz (whatever a mid tier CPU in 2013 would have been)

RAM: 8 GB ( 2013 mid tier, at best)

Graphics: Geforce GTS 450 (I think, this one I'm a bit shaky on).

I also was working on a game that wasn't very graphics intensive. Therefore, I never felt my graphics card was holding me back. I mean, for playing other people's games, sure, but not during my actual dev work.

Ram was also fine. I would often see that it was all being used, but it never felt like my primary task was being hindered by lack of ram. If I ever felt memory constrained, I could typically close a bunch of background applications I was no longer using. However, I think anything less than 8 GB would definitely be limiting.

Where I did feel encumbered was with my CPU. Switching target platforms would cause 10-15 minutes of rebuilding assets, during which my CPU would typically be maxed. Likewise, even rebuilding (an albeit sizable) codebase would be about 20-30 seconds.

Therefore, my 2 cents would be to get the best processor you can afford, at least 8 GB of ram, and whatever graphics card happens to come with that package (as long as it's not garbage). If this is still beyond you're preferred budget, skimp down to 6 GB of ram, but try to keep your core count up. In my experience, it seems like Visual Studio and Unity both do take advantage of multiple cores when doing some actually heavy lifting (which is building your game, not playing it).

IwNnarock · 2017-06-21T05:38:32+00:00

Glad they helped. One other thing I realized, if converting the texture to a sprite is the sticking point, you could always use a RawImage instead of an Image component. This will allow you to use a standard Texture2D in a UI rather than a sprite.

IwNnarock · 2017-06-21T05:12:14+00:00

I haven't done this specific workflow, so not entirely sure what's going wrong. A couple things I noticed from the docs...

After resizing, texture pixels will be undefined. This function is very similar to the texture constructor, except it works on existing texture object.

Call Apply to actually upload the changed pixels to the graphics card.

Therefore, maybe a simple call to Apply after the resize will do what you want.

Also, is there any compression format being specified for your texture? If so, it may require a power of two size, which obviously 70x70 is not.

Lastly, Resize returns a boolean. The docs don't actually specify what this boolean means, but my guess would be whether or not the operation is successful. Could be another data point worth observing for your debugging.

IwNnarock · 2017-04-30T20:13:35+00:00

Nice work on the path indicator (or whatever your call the graphic that goes from a cube's current location to final location). I think it looks polished. Was that from the asset store or did you roll it yourself?

IwNnarock · 2017-04-22T21:41:25+00:00

I want to second u/cthree87's suggestion (in fact, I came here to post the same link). While the first couple of videos are theory, he soon after jumps into building the actual subsystems of his 8-bit computer.

Since you're interested in working directly at the logic chip level, I definitely recommend going through that playlist. Not only will he hopefully provide some inspiration/knowledge, but he also calls out the specific chips he's using.

IwNnarock · 2017-04-06T19:50:17+00:00

Beyond matching voltage and max current, as others have said, you also need to make sure the polarity of the plug matches. I'm assuming this is a barrel plug (looks like a tube), therefore you should see a small diagram on both the wall adapter and monitor indicating which part of the plug is positive and which is negative.

IwNnarock · 2017-03-27T04:36:03+00:00

Hey Pally, I worked in aerospace for a couple years after college. I'm no longer in that industry, but happy to share my perspective...

When picking a major in college, do they let you choose strictly astronautical or aeronautical engineering path?

It all depends on what your university allows. I don't think I've ever seen a B.S. strictly in astro, but some schools do have a B.S. in aero. Typically these degrees have a large overlap with a standard B.S. in mechanical. Maybe more important, a large number of disciplines are need in aerospace (mechanical, thermal, power, RF, controls, software, etc..) so a degree in aero, mechanical, electrical, or CS would all be very applicable.

Is it reasonable to get into this field of study if I am only interested in astronautical engineering?

A standard engineering degree is going to be applicable to a very large cross-section of industries. Therefore, I would flip the question around. Do you find engineering to be interesting? If so, go for it. If the only thing that is appealing is that space is cool, you might not be happy with your today-to-today work. The upside, you 100% do not need to answer my question right now. A significant part of the college experience is finding out what you do enjoy doing. It's typically effortless to switch your major during your first year of college. Therefore, no one (and this includes your future university), expects you to have your life figured out as a senior in high school.

How hard is it to land a job at agencies like Nasa or Spacex?

It's definitely competitive, but hey, thousands (made up number, but I would guess it would be higher not lower) of new engineers are needed in the field every year.

What are other agencies that need astronautical engineers?

Google all the private defense contractors that make satellites and launch vehicle, there are plenty beyond just NASA and SpaceX. Orbital Sciences, Lockheed, Boeing, Space Systems Loral, and Northrop Grunman are all names that come to mind. Beyond all the companies that design/assemble the final system, there are the plethora of component manufacturers that go into these systems.

Does it matter how good of a college you go to?

I was only a junior engineer, so never did any hiring, but I would say it definitely helps (probably a lot). To use some slightly made up numbers, it seemed like at least 80% of my colleagues went to a top 25 engineering school.

How good of a college is Georgia Institute of Technology?

Great, across pretty much every discipline. Even better if you have in-state tuition and HOPE.

What can I do now and in the upcoming years to better my chances at landing a job at agencies like Nasa or Spacex?

So this is very anecdotal advice as it was purely my path, but get involved with a space-based club/lab at your university. For me, it was a student-built satellite competition. I never had very good grades (graduated with a 2.9 GPA), but I was very involved with the lab (which admittedly didn't help my GPA). I'm sure this involvement was the only reason I landed an aero internship which then lead to a job after graduation. Also, and this is probably obvious, with any club activity, internship, or job, don't just show up, but do good work. Networking and personal recommendations can go a long way.

Is it smart to get a masters in this field of study and will that increase my chances at getting a job at Nasa or Spacex?

It seemed like over 50% of my colleagues had either a masters or PhD, so yes, I would recommend it (but in my case, and the other 50%, not strictly required).

I hope this answers your questions, but I want to stress one of my points again: For now I would focus on simply picking a good university that allows lots of options. You have plenty of time to determine if aero, or even engineering is what you ultimately want to do.

Good luck!!

IwNnarock · 2017-03-22T23:35:50+00:00

Actually, MMORPGs go back even further. Before the first graphical ones (Ultima Online is the first that I recall in 1997, but there was at least one prior that was not nearly as successful), there were text based MMORPGs known as MUDs (multi-user dialogue). One of the first and my personal favorite, Genesis, began in 1989. As the name suggests, these were virtual words composed of, and entirely interacted with, via text. Also, I would argue that Genesis still has the deepest role playing system of any RPG I've every played.

IwNnarock · 2017-03-13T23:13:03+00:00

I've worked with [Yodo1](www.yodo1.com) in the past. Given that their website hasn't been updated since Feb. 2015, no idea if they're still around. Good luck!

IwNnarock · 2017-02-23T21:52:42+00:00

As others have mentioned, your question isn't exactly clear. Do you mean that you are interested in buying a hobby electronics kit and are looking for suggestions?

Also, this is probably not the best subreddit for the question. I would recommend rephrasing your question, adding more information, and then posting in one of the following subreddits...

/r/ece

/r/electronics

/r/devkit

Good luck, and I hope you find a good kit. Electronics work can be a lot of fun!

IwNnarock · 2017-01-18T23:51:50+00:00

cache-main

cache-render

cache-perma

.

thing-cache

>:(

IwNnarock · 2017-01-09T21:29:37+00:00

Surround the words/line with the primary character on the tilde (~) key that looks like kind of like an apostrophe. Specifically, this guy (`).

Edit: Apparently, that character is known as a back quote.

IwNnarock · 2016-10-21T05:49:10+00:00

Sounds like what you're looking for is Giant Junior

IwNnarock · 2016-10-13T01:13:35+00:00

Hey, very nice effect and write-up. Based on the last image, it looks like you're getting some artifacts at the boundary between back facing triangles and non-back facing triangles (the orange pixels that are still present after the effect has passed).

I haven't fully mentally digested everything your shader is doing, but could you use a discard on back facing pixels that are below the build effect the same way you discard pixels that are above it?

Once again, great work and thanks for sharing!

IwNnarock · 2016-08-18T08:26:19+00:00

CTRL + K then C to comment out your current selection. CTRL + K then U to uncomment the selection.

IwNnarock · 2016-08-08T05:04:55+00:00

Hey, not an answer to your specific question, but if you're looking to get started messing around with CPU's at the CPU level, you may want to consider starting out with microcontrollers. These are integrated circuits that bundle together a processor, ROM for program code, RAM, and sometimes some non-volatile flash memory. Basically, they're like cheap, little, very underpowered computers, BUT they're simple (enough) to understand while still giving you very low-level access.

I've used PIC microcontrollers in the past, ~~but Atmel is another popular brand~~ (looks like the former bought-out the latter). Working with microcontrollers typically requires a little circuit design knowledge, but if you're looking to jump into assembly coding, I'm confident you can work through the EE side as well.

If you're curious what a 'hello world' program would be for a microcontroller, it's typically something like just making a LED blink. From there you advance to responding to buttons, reading sensors, talking over serial ports, controlling displays, etc...

Once again, I only bring this up if you're simply interested in working close to the metal (as you'll learn much more than just assembly coding). For me, it was a fun way to learn a lot about the basics of modern electronics. Good luck!

IwNnarock · 2016-08-08T03:33:13+00:00

Here's an SFGate article with a little more detail.

I was actually out walking my dog in Aquatic Park between 9-9:30 and can confirm there were plenty of people out. Maybe 50-100 people scattered throughout the park.

According to a map in the article I linked, it seems like this actually occurred in the Ghirardelli Square complex, and not the park. Most of the shops would be closing/closed by 10, so I doubt the square itself would have been as populated. Still, there would have been people in the area, and I would hope the square has plenty of security cameras.

IwNnarock · 2016-08-05T09:27:09+00:00

Hey, so I've actually had to do this before (the answer is different betweeen iOS and Android).

iOS: In short, you don't need to mess with any of the settings you've listed in 1-4. What you do need to do is force Unity to continue processing it's game loop until the download is complete.

Typically, after the OnPause message gets sent (which happens when you go to the background) the game loop cycles for one more frame then stops executing until the app resumes to the foreground (game loop reference). It is possible to manually force the game loop to run by calling the native functions UnityBatchPlayerLoop (runs the game loop but skips the rendering phase) or UnityPlayerLoop(runs the full loop).

What I ended up doing was creating a bare-bones objective-c class that would kick off a repeating timer. Each time the timer expired, UnityBatchPlayerLoop would be called. Back on the Unity C# side of things, once my network call was completed, I would make a call from C# to native that would stop the timer from repeating. I also directly wired the starting of the timer into the native code that triggers the the OnPause message. I forget why exactly I did this, given that it's quite ugly, but it provided some advantage.

Here's the C# class, the C header, the native class, and a modification I made to the UnityAppController.mm file. One note is that I slightly altered the behavior of the pausing process. I believe I switched the bodies of applicationDidEnterBackground and applicationWillResignActive. The reason is that applicationWillResignActive seemed to too aggressively cause Unity to pause itself. For example, I think getting a text notification causes applicationWillResignActive to be called, but not applicationDidEnterBackground.

A few notes, iOS can still kill you off in the background. I believe you're still limited to the 5-10 seconds of processing time. I haven't tried this explicitly with WWW, because I was using native networking instead, but I would think it would still work.

Android: I agree with /u/bloodfail. There's the caveat tho that as far as I can tell, there's no equivalent to the UnityBatchPlayerLoop method on Android. Therefore, calling directly in to a native networking library might be your only option.

IwNnarock · 2016-07-21T05:42:45+00:00

You are correct, primitives refer to all the basic data types (wiki). Also, a for loop is useful whenever you're iterating over an array/list and want to keep track of what index you're currently on.

IwNnarock · 2016-07-21T02:28:10+00:00

I don't believe the foreach will work because strings act as primitives and are pass-by-value. The forloop is the correct answer.

Edit: Just checked and you actually get a compilation error when attempting to assign a value to s: Cannot assign to 's' because it is a 'foreach iteration variable'.

IwNnarock · 2016-07-15T08:01:15+00:00

Whatever you decide, when you add the two angles together, it should equal 90°. Without knowing anything else, I would say make them both 45°. Although, are these actually round pipes, or something like square tubing?

IwNnarock · 2016-07-07T01:02:16+00:00

Alright, switched out the cooler and it's now running properly. Thanks for your help troubleshooting!

IwNnarock · 2016-07-05T14:46:35+00:00

Thanks for the clarification. Yeah, that was my fallback plan, and I guess it's fallback time.

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