Just two new pieces this week in the Fan Fiction section – go read!(Louis Wu 13:41:42 UTC)

Ahoy folks. Geoff is in Orlando and I’m stuck here with Michael. He threatened to hurt me unless I put up this video for him. Don’t let him hurt me. Instead, watch this guide on how to pick up the “Uh Oh!” and “It ain’t like dusting crops boy” achievements in Lego Star Wars III: The Clone Wars. Enjoy!

You asked for it…so here it is. Rage Quit: QWOP!

kornman00 realizes that Bungie will eventually post the slides from their individual GDC 2011 talks online at Bungie.net – but if you, like korn, can’t wait for this to happen, swing by the GDC Vault. He pointed out a number of resources that are already available for download. All are in .pptx format.

• Xi Wang’s Automated Level of Detail Generation for HALO: REACH (164 mb)
• David Aldridge’s I Shot You First: Networking the Gameplay of HALO: REACH (518 mb)
• Chris Tchou’s HALO: REACH Effects Tech (434 mb)

Additionally, Jaime Griesemer gave his Design in Detail talk (the slides (84.5 mb) are different than the ones available on Bungie.net, and Jaime is no longer representing the views of Bungie). Joe Spataro and Tam Armstrong’s talk on The Animation of Halo: Reach is represented by the same powerpoint file as you can download from Bungie.net… and Marty O’Donnell’s talk entitled “From MYTH to HALO: Marty O’Donnell’s Adventures with Adaptive Audio, Creative Collaboration, and Geese” (audio-only) is available to GDC Vault members only. Go grab what interests you! (Louis Wu 22:58:07 UTC)

MaxRealflugel sent word that the second part of his look back at how Halo slots into the gaming universe is now online – go give it a read, and see if you agree with his points.(Louis Wu 22:33:28 UTC)

So we mentioned a few days ago that the time is fast approaching for High Impact Halo to go into cryosleep – and one sub-community is not ready to lose a gathering place. We got word from Reidon (an admin at HIH) that a new site has been set up specifically for the Jumping community – swing by jumprs.org to see what they’ve got for you! (You’re not even limited to talking about jumping. They’re not picky.)(Louis Wu 19:39:46 UTC)

bs angel let us know about a very cool Halo-related auction to raise money for Japan – get TONS of cool stuff, and know that 100% of your bid goes to the American Red Cross, on behalf of Play for Japan (a video game insdustry initaitive to rasie money for earthquake and tsunami relief)! It ain’t gonna be cheap; we’re still six and a half days from the end of the auction, and the bid’s up to $560… but you really are getting an amazing collection of goodies. And hey – keep your eyes peeled; this is only the first of a pair of auctions!(Louis Wu 18:25:54 UTC)

CruelLEGACEY has posted a Mythic Guide video for Tip of the Spear, for those of you who haven’t been able to finish the Weekly Challenge using either Tyrant’s Guide or RC Master’s runs (there’s one we posted about earlier this week, and there’s a newer one that’s even faster), you might find tips in this one that help you through. (He uses many of the techniques that RC Master and Tyrant developed, but there are places where he runs into trouble that they didn’t have, so you can find other options when things don’t go well.) You’ve still got a few days for those 13,000 credits – so check it out!(Louis Wu 17:54:43 UTC)

Bungie’s Comm Chatter pointed out that the IGN Top 10 Kills series hasn’t gotten much love – the last couple WE mentioned were back in February! To make up for that, here are direct links to the recent ones – March 17 and March 23. Some fun tidbits in there! (Louis Wu 17:13:49 UTC)

Halocharts has announced the entries to their BTB Map Making Contest – 46 maps for your playing pleasure! Go see. Thanks, urk. (Louis Wu 17:13:23 UTC)

Raaascal has another Map Spotlight for you – Sanctum was created by D4RKF1R3, a symmetrical map inspired by Halo 2’s Sanctuary. Go grab a copy! (Louis Wu 17:12:54 UTC)

No, seriously. It’s been delayed. Duke Nukem Forever was all set on it’s release on May 3rd, until this happened…

So, see you in June Duke… we hope.

No spoilers this time.

The best of the best multiplayer kills.

9 out of 10 statisticians approved this contest.

Holy of Holies.

No, seriously. It’s been delayed. Duke Nukem Forever was all set on it’s release on May 3rd, until this happened…

So, see you in June Duke… we hope.

I witnessed this first hand the other day. Brandon somehow managed to very carefully explode soup all over the cabinets, counter, floor, his clothing, etc. Apparently it happens a lot. He ought to switch to safer foods.