Preferred DLC Type - Expansion or Season Pass?

[InsidiousMage]

I'm curious about what type of DLC model people would prefer - the expansion model, the season pass model, both, or maybe something else?

 

[Eagle Pursuit]

The season pass is useful for getting new civs and sundry small features like Wonders and City-States. But the expansion is essential for new mechanics. So, I like both.

 

[Lord Lakely]

I second Eagle Pursuit's statement. Expansions specifically are for the introduction of newgameplay mechanics, enrichening the game. They should also come with new Civs, Wonders, Resources and whatnot that showcase the new mechanics, surely.

But if you want to further deepen the pool of available leaders and Civs without needing to add new mechanics (say: the game is complete, as it was at NFP), you'll need game passes to accomplish that. DLC packs of 2-3 Civs apiece also works, which is probably the way to go ahead of the first expansion.

Civ 6 handled it quite well, other than the variant leaders (aka the reskins). I don't really need two Teddies or whatnot, you know?

 

[Jeppetto]

Season Pass is like EP released over the year, so keep game fresh, which is mainly neccesary If we don' trust Base Game / Previous EP to entertain for the year of waiting. Also it can lead to disconnected features. However it does keep the game being constantly talked about on social media. Also as has been pointed out, good for minor content that one can buy separately (instead of the whole Pass).

 

[Quintillus]

Expansions. I don't play enough games of Civ for new civs and leaders themselves to be particularly compelling, except perhaps as they add variety to opponents. There are still plenty in the base game + expansions that I've yet to try.

But I'm also playing a wider variety of games these days, where in the Civ III era and a fair chunk of the Civ IV era, Civ was one of a very small number of games I played.

 

[pokiehl]

I like having both.

 

[Leyrann]

I think what I'd like to see both is a bit of a middle ground, with smaller, but more frequent mini-expansions. Basically, every 3-6 months you get a pack with 2-5 civs and in total 4-7 leaders (whether for new or existing civs), a few wonders and maybe a new game mechanic (don't add game mechanics for the sake of them though!), with a free update that contains updates to unsatisfying gameplay (leader ability reworks, production cost rebalance, unit strength rebalance, etc) and maybe some bits of content like units (if there's gaps in the tree) or technologies.

Compare Age of Wonders IV's system - I'm quite happy with the way they're doing things.

 

[Uberfrog]

I would actually find it very refreshing if there wasn’t any new content for at least a year after release.

Age of Empires IV has had a fairly rocky post-launch development, but I appreciated that the devs spent that first year addressing the core game balance (often with quite radical redesigns) rather than flogging extra DLCs. Even now, after more than two years, the game has had only one paid expansion.

But in reality there will almost certainly be a season pass at launch that delivers new civs every few months.

 

[Nikolai II]

Why not both?

 

[Leyrann]

Why not both?

This.

Age of Wonders IV has seen four DLCs (two minor, two bigger) released over it's first year post-release (well, the last one is coming next week), and together with that, there have been a ton of improvements to the base game's content. Magic victory was overhauled (and might get another one tbh), naval provinces got a full redesign, the research system received major balance changes/a minor rework, the underground was overhauled (and again needs another, I'll admit), etc.

 

[Naeshar]

I liked both in Civ6. Expansion as an update to game mechanics and systems with a few new civilizations/leaders and a Season Pass as an ongoing engagement with new civilizations, city states and wonders, released about monthly.
Leader Pass > New Frontier
Retrospectively, the first few small DLCs with one civilization and a wonder are my least favorite. *looking at John Curtin*

 

[UWHabs]

I think if you want to truly change core game mechanisms it needs to be in an expansion pass. Otherwise you end up with a fractured system, where some features just feel incomplete. Like the preserves in civ 6 simply don't mix properly with the rest of the district setups and don't really fully integrate into the game, I think in part because they are from a smaller DLC setup. If you don't have the larger overhaul all at once, it's hard to balance and mix, so those systems will always feel separate.

Now, granted, some of that could be done better. Like I do think the diplo quarter feels more integrated in the game, and that came in a DLC pass as well. But if you add all of the NFP together, the scope of the changes is mostly smaller changes, not the level of updates from the larger expansion packs.

 

[AntSou]

We might see Total Wars approach of free and relatively frequent updates, with DLC being made of news Civs, Leader, Wonders, etc.

I can see Civ VII having faction specific game mechanics, like TW and AoE IV. That's a step up from abilities. It makes it more complex and distinct without it requiring walls of text.

 

[moondog385]

It really depends on how it’s handled.

As others have pointed out, expansions are really the only way we can get new mechanics. I like the format of season passes because they allow for a more consistent stream of content. But if the leaders and civs don’t take advantage of any of the expansion mechanics, there’s something missing there.

 

[nakzox]

Well, I certainly hope it's just expansions (it won't be). I don't want to see a Paradox-like DLC structure where they have so many that you're essentially buying the game three times over if you want to get everything.

 

[GeneralZIft]

I am expecting a system where they have expansions and then probably Leader DLCs. Like they've always done, I suppose?

 

[vorlon_mi]

I am expecting a system where they have expansions and then probably Leader DLCs. Like they've always done, I suppose?

I don't think that Civ1 had any expansions. From Civ2 through Civ5, including Beyond Earth, we got expansion packs. They added new leaders and functions.

Civ6 was the first version (that I remember) which offered DLC and passes (series of DLCs). This may be the new normal, but it's an evolution from the past.

 

[GeneralZIft]

I don't think that Civ1 had any expansions. From Civ2 through Civ5, including Beyond Earth, we got expansion packs. They added new leaders and functions.

Civ6 was the first version (that I remember) which offered DLC and passes (series of DLCs). This may be the new normal, but it's an evolution from the past.

I think Civ5 had leader DLCs, if I'm not wrong? I say always, but you're right, it's a new thing.

I love Expansions but they can only do so much before the game gets too complicated. And then adding new Leaders via Frontier Pass OR standalone DLC for me is fine because at the end of the day it's just like a content stream until the end of the lifetime of the game.

You gotta appreciate that Civ6 was still coming out with new game modes and such for quite a while

 

[nakzox]

I think Civ5 had leader DLCs, if I'm not wrong? I say always, but you're right, it's a new thing.

I love Expansions but they can only do so much before the game gets too complicated. And then adding new Leaders via Frontier Pass OR standalone DLC for me is fine because at the end of the day it's just like a content stream until the end of the lifetime of the game.

You gotta appreciate that Civ6 was still coming out with new game modes and such for quite a while

Civ V had both leader and wonder DLCs. Many people probably bought them in a bundle though, so they don't even know about that.

 

[PetrusvonDoom]

Both. But I want the DLCs to be packs of Civilizations (and Leaders) united by some theme (Early Game Focused Civilizations; Great War Leaders, African Civilizations...). I don't like the idea of DLCs with a single civilization.