Howdy Howdy Howdy. Zachariah Scott here. Did I get your attention with the Half-Life:Alyx headline? good. I promise there is some cool half life alyx news at the end of this message, If you cannot wait. here is the proof. [cdn.discordapp.com]but first . . .

. . . Coronavirus is here. It doesn't matter where you are, this is a problem for everybody. Don't underestimate the disease that is upon us . We have no idea the long term effects of this virus, and I want every person who reads this message to take maximum precautions as we go through this crazy period in all of our lives. Here is what we know.

-This virus can damage your lungs in ways that cannot heal , POSSIBLY PERMANENTLY . Until we know more about this disease, I believe that it is unwise to compare COVID-19 to the flu. Instead, you should compare COVID-19 to polio. If that sounds alarmist, then I accept full responsibility, but we have Zero understanding of the long term effects of this virus.

-This Virus is new. There are no vaccines, and there are no sure fire treatments. I have seen people tossing around AZITHROMICIN as an antibiotic that can help. This is an interesting possibility for many healthy individuals , but as person with specific health conditions, When I last took AZITHROMICIN in 2015, I was personally injured in ways that took two years to recover *(I have a very specific digestive disease situation) NO medicine is without side effects, and this problem is only amplified when you consider that no two people are going to have the exact same biological reaction to this disease. Do not assume that because a drug works for other people , it will work for you. This is the exact reason why governments have restrictive testing and approval processes. Once somebody from the CDC tells you a specific treatment is fine, then you can relax. but until then, THIS VIRUS HAS NO CONFIRMED CURE OR TREATMENT BESIDES TIME AND YOUR OWN IMMUNE SYSTEM FIGHTING IT OFF. THIS VIRUS CAN CAUSE CONSIDERABLE DAMAGE TO YOUR LUNGS , WHICH WILL NOT NECESSARILY HEAL OVER TIME EVEN IF YOU ARE YOUNG. TAKE ALL OF THIS EXTREMELY SERIOUSLY.

-THE ONLY SUREFIRE WAY to prevent the spread of this disease, is to take physical steps to avoid physically spreading this disease to other people. BREAK THE CHAIN OF TRANSMISSION. There is the very real possibility with Covid-19 that a healthy individual could show minimum symptoms, while still being able to transmit the disease to people they come into contact with. Because of this, the only certain way to avoid spreading this disease, is to isolate and self quarantine. PLEASE follow the Instructions of your Local / national disease advisories. PLEASE treat this situation with maximum seriousness. If you are reading this message, chances are you are a young person with a healthy immune system , and you will probably survive. But that healthy/safe population does not account for nearly as many people as you might think. Protect your friends and loved ones and self quarantine. Take governmental advisories seriously, and be as decent of a human being as you can.

-This moment is different. I've been kicking around this earth for 32 years ,and this is a new one on me. This is a new one on my parents as well. This is new. Nobody knows how to deal with this yet. Take COVID-19 Seriously. Be a leader in your friend group, in your community, and most importantly in your family. If your friends , or coworkers, or bosses, or parents do not take this disease seriously then it is your responsibility to convince them that this is important and dangerous.

-The comparison of COVID -19 to the flu is arbitrary. you may as well compare COVID-19 to POLIO. until the doctors weigh in, we have no idea what the long term health effects of this disease are. Take it extremely seriously.


okay. I think I've been sufficiently bleak and scary. now for the fun stuff...Half-Life: Alyx is pretty cool guys!!! Valve has stated publicly that they have plans to release mod / map making tools, and sooner or later that means that we'll be seeing source filmmaker opportunities, and I believe that these will be released soon enough, however in the meantime, In the OSFM Discord channel[discord.gg] We have added some new chat channels that have become a small nexus of Interesting Half-Life: Alyx Discoveries. BE WARNED. THERE WILL BE SPOILERS. But for the first time in 8 years, we are looking at some truly fertile new Modding / SFM horizons. Valve has said that mapping tools will eventually be released, but the Folks in OSFM have already made a whole bunch of fun discoveries regarding Half-Life:Alyx . I dont want to get TOO Specific in this message, because almost hourly ,we are discovering new opportunities related to Half-Life: Alyx, but it is safe to say that whether Valve releases official mod tools OR NOT, we have a huge amount of interesting new code, assets, maps, project files, and character rigs to investigate. If you are Interested or active in the Half-Life:Alyx Modding community, then you will be very welcome in the newly created HLA channels within the OSFM discord!!!

Visit the OSFM discord channel Here [discord.gg]

It has come to my attention that at some point old Discord links got mudged up or deactivated. so I am sending this announcement out to tell everybody the discord chat room is still active and is a great place to get help with SFM.

Here is a fresh discord link! https://discord.gg/qFT27zM Come chat with us!

-carry on

Where did the OSFM community go? to this discord channel! didn't you get the memo?

https://discord.gg/qFT27zM

Enjoy the chatter, avoid the drama. I miss Obama.

Howdy Howdy! Zachariah scott here with an important message!!!

This is a reminder to anyone who never got the message. The OSFM community is still fairly active, but we have almost all gone to Discord thanks to its various superiorities compared to steam. Come join the channel at the discord link below!

This is the discord link! click it![discord.gg]

If you are wondering "hey where did all the chat go" , I'd like to remind / tell people that the main form of chat for OSFM has pretty much entirely migrated to this discord channel below

https://discord.gg/Y5t2FTB

so if you are starved for community, we're still here! sorry for not makingt this a more clear post. also if you havent checked out discord, you should, it has a ton of benefits over steam chat, and is actually a great way specifically, for filmmakers and poster artists to work, as you can paste screenshots in discord and preview them ,unlike clunky old steam.

-See you in discord

-Zachariah