August 09, 2006

1. Well, I didn't actually think I would be posting Mod News again here for Rogue Spear. But Bigbluesoul changed all that when he released "Rainbow Six for Rogue Spear: Urban Operations," a mod that recreates the Rainbow Six campaign in Rogue Spear. Bigbluesoul compiled new content that he created, as well as work from myself, Lungbutter, Neo, Copper, Cynical Saint, Raid, John Sonedecker, Hunter Johnny, and Lasher M.

Now the full original R6 campaign can be played in Rogue Spear (Urban Operations v2.52 required). The mod includes:

• 16 maps: Embassy, Congo, Oil Rig, Water Ride, Dam, Airport, Mint, Ship, Road Ambush, Athletes village, BioDome, Hacienda, Hotzone, Estate, Skyscraper, Amazon
• 16 adversarial
• 16 co-op
• 8 lone wolf missions
• 16 mission single player campaign
• 16 terrorist hunt missions

If you are looking for a reason to re-install Rogue Spear and give it a spin, now you have that reason! For more information, go to www.bigbluesoul.com. To Download this mod, head HERE!

December 25, 2005

1. Merry Christmas!

2. My Crosswinds account has gone inactive, so if you need to send me an email, please use my yahoo account at serellan@yahoo.com.

November 20, 2004

1. Well, Ghost Recon 2 is done, so I finally have some time to update the site. I will check around and try to fix any broken links, I know a few of the pages are messed up, pointing to the old address.

2. From now on, any non-mod related news will be posted at my portal site, Serellan.com. I will only update this page with new relating to my mods (if there is any more).

3. Recently, the Anchorage Daily News published an article about me, focusing on my mod work and my job as a Game Designer. I am really happy that they took the time to profile me, and it is a cool read, but I do want to point out one issue. In one part of the article, it comes off as if I claimed sole credit for the RLTC mod. I want to assure Gravedigga and the rest of the RLTC crew that this was not intentional. I was talking about how working as part of a large mod team can help prepare someone for the industry, but it didn't end up reading that way (it was about an hour and a half of discussion and a few quotes were pulled from it). That said, check it out HERE.

April 02, 2004

1. I have been working at getting the Serellan.com website up and running, hopefully there will be more there in the future.

2. Rainbow Six: Athena Sword, the expansion pack for Rainbow Six 3: Raven Shield is out. Check it out here! I had the opportunity to do weapons consultation on this project, and it should be a great expansion for Raven Shield fans.

3. I was happy to be interviewed in the April edition of GMR Magazine, in the talent section. Grab it at your local game store.

4. Recently, on a business trip I had the chance to meet a fellow former Marine, Dan Lauria. Semper Fi!

5. The Trenches map for the Xbox Ghost Recon: Island Thunder was released yesterday for Live! If you are playing GR:IT on Xbox, grab this map, it is great!

February 29, 2004

1. Wow, it's been a while since I posted here! Happy Leap Day, everyone!

2. In a great opportunity for Rainbow Six & Rogue Spear fans, Red Storm recently released Tom Clancy's Counter Terrorism Classics, a compilation with Rainbow Six, Rogue Spear, and Sum of All Fears. The great thing about this pack is they have all been updated for full XP & 2K compatibility! Grab it here!

November 10, 2003

1. Happy Birthday, Marines! On this day in 1775, the USMC was born. Click on the link below to read Gen. Lejeune's Birthday Message:

November 3, 2003

1. I have posted up scans of the GR:IT walkthrough article I wrote for CodeVault. You can view each page here: one, two, three. You can also download a .zip file with the contents of the article HERE. To backorder issues of CodeVault, or for more information, check out GamePro.com.

September 20, 2003

1. I've done some site updates today. I've added links in the Download pages that will allow you to get the CD Archive of all of my mods. I've also cleaned up the Awards section, adding the recent interview by GameGossip.com, as well two "long lost" reviews, a Deadly Protocol Preview (a hilarious translation) from France and CR6's classic Forbidden City Travel Guide from Rainbow Six Retreat.

2. The upcoming October issue of CodeVault (on some shelves now) features walkthroughs to Island Thunder in the "Developer Direct" section, written by your's truly. Check it out for some great tips; and an even greater picture of me. =)

3. I was browsing the R6/GR community the other day, and I came upon a news post by Chris Abele of Pie's Tactics regarding my GG interview in August. It is a cool summary of my history with this great community, and I have to say it was a great read for me. Chris "Pie4Foo" Abele has been a cornerstone of the Community for many years, and if you havn't checked out Pie's Tactics, you aren't getting the most out of your game. Here is what Chris had to say:

We neglected to mention this interview from earlier this month, but our very own Christian "Serellan" Allen was interviewed for the first time since he joined the ranks of developer at Red Storm. As regular readers of this site probably know, Christian first cut his teeth on a series of Rainbow Six and then Rogue Spear modifications he created while working for the government living up in lonely Alaska, the most notable of them included NATO, the original massive weapon compilation mod. Not too long after putting out his first Rogue Spear mods, he joined up with the team here at Pie's Tactics to serve as our "mods guy," which included a number of things, but his most important contribution was his dedication to the forums and other modders interested in his help. He eventually became a certified expert (if not a nut) on Rogue Spear modding, which led him to pursue a formal education in game design, which he began in Arizona two years ago. I myself [met] Christian just before he made the move down to Arizona, going with him to E3 2001 in Los Angeles. It was there that he successfully began networking with the developers at Red Storm, who he had previously known only through email correspondence and forum discussions (of which there were plenty). Since Christian is an amicable guy who struck me as more of a cowboy than a computer jockey, he was able to charm his way into some introductions with the developers attending E3. Those contacts would later serve when he met them again at E3 2002 and put in an application to work for Red Storm later that summer. Before long he was up in North Carolina for an interview, and just weeks later, he was offered a position at Red Storm. That was one year ago this month.

Christian's hobby of mod making which would later become the dream of working full-time for the computer game industry is one which many hardcore gamers aspire to. His own work, dedication and enthusiasm for the industry helped him to pull off the remarkable transition from amateur to professional, and that's a bit about what today's interview covers. In the interview, Christian explains his day-to-day role at Red Storm (where he designs missions for Ghost Recon's console titles) and answers a series of questions regarding how he broke into the industry and how others can do the same. Here's a superb quote from the interview, in which Christian offers advice to amateur modders:

Persistence is the key. It is a rare occurrence that any one single Mod project will get you "noticed," however, a large portfolio of high quality work that demonstrate your skills is what will help you land that first interview. Make sure that you release quality, tested work that showcases your talents and abilities. Also, become involved in the community you are Modding for, and remember that once you release a project to the public, you should support it as best you can.

For the full interview, follow this link.

Thanks, Chris.

4. Tom Clancy's Ghost Recon: Island Thunder on the Xbox has been well recieved in the gaming community, I'm happy to say. The first Downloadable content map, Refinery, was released this week to Xbox Live! members, and it has gotten some great feedback. Thanks to everyone in the community (both PC and Console) who continue to support both myself and the games we all love.

5. I've gotten the final version of my CD Archive up on CafePress, here is what the CD looks like:

6. I went ahead and archived the 2002 news posts at the bottom of this page. I don't know if anyone actually reads that old stuff, but it makes it easier for my scrapbook if I cut it off every once and a while.

August 13, 2003

1. Again, it has been awhile since the site has been updated, and a lot has happened since the last post. But before I post any news, I would like to wish a happy birthday to my wonderful wife, Angie.

2. I am proud that the first game with my name in the credits, Tom Clancy's Ghost Recon: Island Thunder for the Xbox, shipped last week. The game is a blast, and I am really proud to have contributed to this great title. Take a look HERE.

3. I recently had the privelige of being intereviewed by GameGossip.com. News Editor Jonathan Sharpe asked some really good questions about my modding and my current position at Red Storm. You can check it out HERE. I'd like to say thanks to the Rainbow Six and Ghost Recon community, and the websites in particular, for the great feedback I have gotten lately, I really appreciate the continuing support.

4. Again, I am planning on doing some updates to the site. Mainly I will try to clean up some of the mess, and find any broken links.

May 07, 2003

1. It has been a while since I had a chance to update the site. I have been quite busy lately with my new job. I hope to work on the site more in the near future.

2. I have archived every mod I have created (or been part of the team for) onto CD. I am making this CD available for anyone who wants to own it as part of their Rogue Spear collection. You can get the CD HERE through Cafepress. Please note that I do not make ANY profit from the CD, the cost is only for the processing of the CD itself, not for the content (you would pay the same to buy a blank CD from Cafepress). Everything availible on the CD is freeware and is currently available for download. This is just a neat collectible item to have, and is a great way for me to make sure my mods stay around and don't get lost (and for me to get a nice label on my mod back-up CD).
Get The Rooster's Mods on CD