Need life advice

[D3addr0p]

Notice: Lot's of reading ahead.

Cross Post from Reddit because I really need to reach as many people as possible to get advice.

Ok so it is midnight and I am at work at night shift, it might just be the caffeine but I am having a bit of a panic attack as always thinking about what I am going to do with my life and what I'm going to do next. Nothing serious or life-threatening, I just like to plan ahead.

 

I really don't know how to structure this all that well but here goes.

 

Games have always been my escape from reality, I don't smoke or drink to destress myself. Recently I had to sell my Xbox to have enough money for a car(which was definitely needed). I knew that this would impact me hard but I thought I could survive a few months without games.

 

It has been my dream for 7 years to own a PC but I never got to it, now I finally have a job and I'm still saving up for a pc and other reasons for getting a pc over a console is that I want to create games and other types of content instead of just consuming it.

 

So I have a while back decided that to create games I needed to learn to use 3 types of applications, a 3D modeling application, a DAW for creating music and a game engine, so far I've been using and learning blender for a few years and have gotten a lot better with it. For music, I have mostly just been playing around with FL Studio but haven't really invested myself in learning it yet.

 

The computer I have at the moment is seriously lacking to do the above and I have already started getting new parts(Just a case and power supply at the moment) and I am saving up until June so that I can buy all the rest once off.

I want to move ahead in life and be that by being a creative artist or indie developer which at the moment I don't feel I have the necessary skills to be a job yet. So I am very good with IT related stuff and I'm currently working as IT support. To move ahead I know you have to have some type of degree or something that looks good on paper and I have started taking and learning the A+ course as I've heard it boosts your IT career.

 

So the few problems that I have and want advice on are that I don't know what to focus on, do I focus on the present and just get the A+ certification so that I can start looking for a better job and leave the Content Creation aside or do I put the A+ aside and learn other skills for Content Creation(Music theory, Sculpting, Animation, and Coding) and if so what to focus on first?

 

And for the gaming-related problem is that I have recently played league of legends for a few months but uninstalled it this morning because I don't like the mentality of online games and limited time events that make you spend hours on it and I feel like I'm wasting my time. My PC is a potato and I can't do much with it. So I have been thinking of just giving in and buying another Xbox just so I have something to play but that would push back me getting a PC. My computer also cannot handle any gaming engines so I can't start learning to make games just yet. The obvious choice is to not get the Xbox but I really do not know what I will do in the meantime(in addition to learning).

 

Additional notes are that my PC is not able to run most software that I want to use.

 

Specs of PC; CPU:i3 2120

GPU: Nvidia 9600 gt 512mb

RAM: 4 GB

Power supply:

Corsair RM850x

Case: NZXT H700i

 

Sorry in advance if this is confusing.

[LukeSavenije]

Well, what is your budget and location?

[D3addr0p]

Just now, LukeSavenije said:

Well, what is your budget and location?

Not really looking to build a PC now, will be doing all the research for parts and everything in June

[Spotty]

3 minutes ago, D3addr0p said:

Cross Post from Reddit because I really need to reach as many people as possible to get advice.

My life advice is if you expect people to offer their time to help you, the least you can do is copy and paste your post to make a new thread. Don't just link to a Reddit thread and expect people to read it.

 

Put as much effort in to the question as you expect others to put in to the answer.

[D3addr0p]

Just now, Spotty said:

My life advice is if you expect people to offer their time to help you, the least you can do is copy and paste your post to make a new thread. Don't just link to a Reddit thread and expect people to read it.

 

Put as much effort in to the question as you expect others to put in to the answer.

True will copy and format it now.

[LukeSavenije]

Just now, Spotty said:

Put as much effort in to the question as you expect others to put in to the answer.

~Crunchy dragon

 

Well, it really depends on budget. On the lower end you should get some stuff second hand, on a higher you can get brand new.

[Bajantechnician]

Quote

snip

if you're looking for stuff, I've got a bunch of high-end stuff i'm getting rid of soon, I'd be more than happy to go low on you

(ram, psus, mobos, cpus)

[D3addr0p]

1 minute ago, Bajantechnician said:

*Snip*
if you're looking for stuff, I've got a bunch of high-end stuff i'm getting rid of soon, I'd be more than happy to go low on you

(ram, psus, mobos, cpus)

Much appreciated, doubting that you'll be close to me as I am in South Africa, but thanks for the thought

[Bajantechnician]

2 minutes ago, D3addr0p said:

Much appreciated, doubting that you'll be close to me as I am in South Africa, but thanks for the thought

I'm in Cali, USA. I'll be happy to cover up to $15 in shipping.

[Spotty]

16 minutes ago, D3addr0p said:

The computer I have at the moment is seriously lacking to do the above and I have already started getting new parts(Just a case and power supply at the moment) and I am saving up until June so that I can buy all the rest once off.

If you're looking to buy in 7 months time, don't buy anything now. New hardware will be released by then so it's pointless trying to decide what to build now.

[D3addr0p]

4 minutes ago, Bajantechnician said:

I'm in Cali, USA. I'll be happy to cover up to $15 in shipping.

Just out of interest sake I did a check on shipping cost and cost around $400 so I would have to politely decline but again thanks for the gesture man.

[D3addr0p]

1 minute ago, Spotty said:

If you're looking to buy in 7 months time, don't buy anything now. New hardware will be released by then so it's pointless trying to decide what to build now.

Yep as I said I just want advice on what to focus on, not going to buy at the moment, just going to save up

[Spotty]

Just now, D3addr0p said:

Yep as I said I just want advice on what to focus on, not going to buy at the moment, just going to save up

Focus on the education and career. Do creative stuff as a hobby in your spare time.

[Giganthrax]

3D modeling, sound & music design, game engines, etc. are all unique skills in their own right. Trying to master just one of them to the point where you can use it in serious game development is a huge undertaking that takes time & dedication. Pick one of those things, and focus on it. 

 

That being said, in your place, I'd get your A+ first, get a decent job, get situated, and then really dive into learning new skills. You don't want to be stuck for years working night shifts in a job you don't like just to support yourself.

 

As for gaming, what games do you play? If you want modern AAA games then yeah, an xb1/ps4 is your cheapest short-term option. If you're into esport games/indies, then get a Ryzen 2400g or 2200g system as they have integrated graphics and can run most of those games decently well. You can get a GPU at a later date. 

[Guest]

Got to keep it real man, get the A+ and don't buy a PC or XBOX immediately, save up for a rainy day and get a super awesome PC when you have a nice as job. I'd play some old games in the meantime, and not LoL, from what I hear its a bit toxic anyway. 

[jones177]

What I did was make money with my creative stuff. 

 

I did free projects for people to gain experience. After gaining experience I then approached small companies and showed what I could do for them through the portfolio I created doing free projects.

 

It did not take long for my computers to pay for themselves and later on pay for everything. 

 

In the end the fun stuff became the way I made a living and having high end PC hardware became a necessity. 

 

 

 

     

[Overbuilder]

I have a worse pc than you, and what i recommend you do is play CS:S. Once you get good, it's a super awesome game, and it is free if you get it from here:

 

https://cswarzone.com/css/

 

super fun once you start to get good

 

also CS:GO is now free to play, your GPU should be able to handle it at 720p lowest settings.

[Richard1]

 I hope that your tips will work for me too, thanks