I Don't Understand "Season Pass" Concept

[Quetzal]

I very much enjoy BT. I've put about 150 hours total in the game so far. I'd like to purchase the expansions. I have no problem at all with paying for content DLC's in most games (e.g. buying every last TW:WH2 DLC now and in the future), but I'm bloody well not paying an annual subscription fee for the privilege of being allowed to buy a DLC. I fell into that trap in several MMORPG's, and am not falling for it again,

Am I misunderstanding the concept here? What the heck does HBS mean by "season pass"?

[The Elusive Dave]

The season pass gets you all the DLC at a slight discount, it's not a subscription fee.

[Befitzero]

Where did you get the idea from that its a reoccuring fee? You pay once for the pass and get every DLC tied to it. From what has been said by the Devs in Twitch streams there are currently no other DLC planned for this game so its not like there is going to be a new season pass to buy again.

[Quetzal]

So I can buy and play the DLC's (at full price) without worry? Sweet! Thanks for your reply!

[Chaon]

The Season Pass is just a way for you to buy all the DLC's at a reduced price. It just saves a bit from buying them one at a time.

[wesnef]

EDIT: IMPORTANT - THE SEASON PASS LISTING IN THE STEAM STORE IS BUGGED RIGHT NOW.
-> The Season Pass link on the main Battletech Page is linking to the "Mercenary Collection", not the actual Pass. The Pass is NOT $90. To find the actual Pass listing, go to one of the DLC pages, then follow the "Season Pass Bundle" link. Or, wait a week or two for the Black Friday/Winter sale, and see if you can get it cheaper.
-----

Original post:

"Season Pass" as a basic concept has existed in videogaming for at least a decade now.

Until recently, it didn't mean "annual subscription". It just meant "pay one discounted fee for all the DLC we'll release". Only in the last couple years, with the rise of "live" games, have we started to see yearly Season Passes for things.

The original Season Passes just said "all the DLC!" After some companies ended up releasing more DLC than they originally planned, Season Passes started listing exactly what DLC were covered by the Pass.

(And then you get situations like Fallout 4 - they announced the Season Pass with ~5 DLC and a price of $40. And then later said "we're adding 2-3 more DLC to the Pass! And it's cost is going up $20! But people who already pre-ordered don't have to pay more.")



In the case of this game, it's the more traditional approach - the Pass is just a discounted bundle of DLC, rather than an annual thing. The pass itself says what it includes - three DLC, Flashpoint, Urban Warfare, and Heavy Metal. We have no announced plans for any more DLC coming in the future. If they do make more, and it's more than one or two, they might make a "Season Pass 2" which would cover those ones.

(and in this case, the Season Pass covered far more than a year - it's taken 1.5 years for the three DLC to come out).

[Quetzal]

Befitzero: I may have been overly paranoid. To me the term season pass sounded a lot like a subscription. I blame my dog...

[Quetzal]

Thank you all for the responses and explanations. It's kinda weird: I've been playing computer games since play-from-disc on 5 1/4" floppies ("Please insert disc 2 in Drive A to continue"). I have honestly never heard anything like the term except in the context of on-line gaming. Even at my advanced age, I guess you learn something new every day.

[Sir Prometeus]

Season Pass usually implies many, or all DLC, bundled with the base game. There are also expansion passes, in some games such as Witcher 3, that bundle several DLC without the base game.

(In the case of Battletech, the Season Pass is like an Expansion Pass)

Eventually it all comes to saving some money buying many things upfront, however I don't advise buying a season pass when there are DLCs included in it, that are still to be announced. You don't know what you are buying

Now, it's possible to buy the season pass for Battletech knowing what is included

[Narlotep]

It's really just a discounted DLC bundle, for which you pay upfront without knowing exactly what/when the DLCs will arrive over the next year. Personally, I just bought the season pass as I know Heavy Metal is the last of the DLCs included in this season pass and therefore I know what I am getting. If I had purchased it earlier, I would be gambling that the content would be worth the cost.

[Cutlass Jack]

The 'season pass' term has been so misused I don't blame you for being confused. For example a season pass in Destiny 2 is actually a season (3 months) and not the DLC which is separate.

But in this particular case it just means getting the 3 DLCs for this game at a discount with no additional fees.

[SK∃PTIC // Gabyy]

"The BATTLETECH Season Pass includes Flashpoint, Urban Warfare and the upcoming BATTLETECH expansion Heavy Metal at a discounted price."

A season pass it's not a suscription, it's a one-time purchase that includes (in most cases/games) every DLC already released and the upcoming ones usually

[Failbot v2.024]

you get all the DLC for the cost of the season pass.

[ambi]

Is there more DLC planned?

[Werecat101]

The term season pass is just a way of grouping the 3 dlc into a package for sale. its rather a common term I am surprised you haven't encountered it before.

[DoGy AUT]

A season pass is nothing more than a package of DLC - where you basically pay upfront but with a bit of a discount. Compared instead of buying the included DLC standalone.