PlanetDreamcast | Features | Rogue Spear Designer Diary | August 22, 2000

Rogue Spear Designer Diary An inside look at the development of Rainbow Six: Rogue Spear for the Dreamcast Entry Two: August 22, 2000 Pipe Dream here again, with another update on Rogue Spear for the Dreamcast. We�ve made a lot of improvements to the game since our last installment. Currently, we have three missions up and running on the system, not to mention all of the training missions. By the end of this week, we�ve looking to have all of the missions running. The controller code we talked about last time is also up and running, with no problems thus far. The VMU and vibration pack are both working correctly in Rogue Spear, with no compatibility problems. Keyboard support is also in, with limited mouse support at this time. Mouse support will be further tested and implemented as soon as the mouse becomes available from Sega. Unfortunately, I can�t say that it�s ALL going to be smooth sailing for us. We�ve got some of the best programmers out there (a totally unbiased opinion, I assure you), but we�re still expecting to hit the occasional snag. Two problematic areas are the Split Screen and Death Match modes, which we�re working on diligently. In fact, the four-player mode may be the most challenging aspect of the game to bring to the Dreamcast. The reason is that given the system�s limitations, the existing Rogue Spear levels are too complex for four simultaneous camera views to render sufficiently. We therefore must reduce the geometry and complexity of each level, while trying to maintain the integrity of the original design. It�s a tricky balancing act, but I feel we�re more than up to the task. Another issue we seem to be facing is the snow and rain effects, but we�ve almost got those beat. Perhaps the largest foreseeable problem is the size of the code. Rainbow Six was the largest code out there to be put onto the Dreamcast. Rogue Spear, if you can imagine this, is four times its size! We�ve got a lot of memory saving to do, as we want to make sure that the consumer gets the full effect of the action-packed Rogue Spear. As you can see, things are progressing quite well. Look forward to our next journal entry on September 20th, for more informative Rogue Spear updates. Until then, feel free to check out these shots from the latest development build. See you in three! Next: More Screenshots