Neowin.net

Developer tight lipped on its recently trademarked "Eclipse Engine" which it says is part of its "next generation of technology."

When Atari announced development had begun on Neverwinter Nights 2, they said BioWare would provide its developer, Obsidian Entertainment, with "tools" and "technology" from the first game to help create the sequel.

Today, the public has a clue what BioWare's next generation of technology is. The day after the NWN2 announcement, reports began to surface that BioWare had trademarked a new game engine with the United States Patent and Trademark Office. Indeed, on May 28, the Canadian developer registered the name "Bioware Eclipse Engine" under the computer software subsection of the goods and services trademark category.

News source: GameSpot

Foremost among those features will be a league system similar to that of ESPN NFL 2K5. Although it won't be available until later in the year, the league system will allow online Premium Pass subscribers to create their own version of the NFL, by creating their own leagues and teams and scheduling their own playoffs and championship. "A lot of the Madden guys asked for a special place to compete," said Lange in a conversation with GameSpot. "The spirit of the PP is to design a group of users who are more serious than the average gamer."

The Premium Pass will also introduce other features during the course of the season, including enhanced Web tournaments, which will allow players to set up tournaments and follow their progress online, and Hall of Fame Web leaderboards, which will give subscribers their own leaderboard separate from the Madden Overall leaderboards.

At launch, Premium Pass subscribers will receive several benefits immediately, including a reputation rating boost, highlighted names, personalized career pages, expanded leaderboards, a customizable streaming sports ticker, an EA Sports calendar, exclusive Premium Pass message boards, and special "members only" medals (not to be confused with "members only" jackets). Subscribers will also have access to Madden University, an updated library of Madden tips and tactics and expanded customer support. They will also be able to register early for the Madden Challenge, the 32-city competition that determines the best Madden NFL player in the country.

For more details on the Premium Pack, go to the official Madden NFL 2005 Web site. The game is set to ship August 9 for the Xbox, PlayStation 2, GameCube, Game Boy Advance, and PC.


Dice Says: With the latest crave of online gaming! Madden 2005 will be another one into the list. This extreme 3D football game will surely attract lots of buyers and online gamers ;)