After Human reaches every sweet spot, they will receive the customary 15 minutes of Steam renown. Its first week of release has already been filled with highs and lows for this free-to-play survival crafting massively multiplayer online game about battling across a planet overrun by an odd alien lifeform known as Stardust.
Currently ranked fourth in terms of sales and the seventh most played game on Steam, Once Human was developed by NetEase Games’ Starry Studio and released on July 9 for PC. In addition to the game’s focus on building and killing things, players will find themselves exploring a vast open environment and coming across other players. The game has created a lot of problems throughout launch week, despite the early excitement around it.
The trouble started with a furor over NetEase’s privacy policy, which stated the company collects personal data from players, including “first and last name, title, prefix, email address, telephone number, (instant) messaging account, postal address, date of birth, age, gender, country/region, and government-issued ID, such as passport information, as required by applicable laws for age verification and correction of personal information.” The suggestion of overly broad data surveillance coming from a Chinese company led Once Human’s Steam review rating to plunge into the negative before barely anyone had even played it. However, former Blizzard dev Jason “Thor” Hall pushed back, arguing there was nothing unusual about the policy, with many other games containing similar language.
Starry Studios itself also responded, stating, “Once Human takes our users’ data privacy very seriously. We would only use personal data if we have a legitimate legal basis, such as providing requested services or acting with your expressed consent.” The game’s rating has since improved to “mixed” with thousands of players praising it as a mashup of The Division and Rust with a lot of different layers of gameplay. In the words of one Steam reviewer, “Pros: It’s fun. Cons: It’s jank.”
There’s a piano mini-game. There’s a motorcycle that makes it feel more than a little reminiscent of Days Gone. And of course, no survival crafting game is complete without fishing. Yes, you can make your own aquarium. Players are already hard at work making cool homes at the end of the world.
There have been plenty of gameplay design choices that have rubbed players the wrong way too, though. You can unlock rare blueprints from a Wish Machine which is basically a glorified gacha device. It requires an in-game currency called Starchrom, which, as some defenders point out, has to be earned and can’t just be purchased with real money. Once Human also initially limited players to one character locked to a single server which couldn’t be deleted. That decision, however, was quickly walked back.
Starry Studios also walked back another controversial aspect of the game: limiting cosmetics to a single character. Once Human players were shocked to discover that microtransaction content was initially only unlocked on a single character rather than being accessible account-wide. The developers announced on July 12 that a fix for that is planned to arrive in August, a reversal that’s helped the team earn back goodwill from the existing player base.
Most divisive of all is how Once Human handles seasonal resets. Basically, every six weeks or so, the game will wipe much of players’ progress, rebooting maps and sending characters back to level one. As an MMO centered around grinding, it’s struck some fans as a raw deal. In response, the studio has tried to clarify precisely what will and won’t change every time one of these resets happen and the thinking behind them. “In the new season, your character will be reset to Lv.1, and the exploration progress of the World Map will be reset as well,” read an explainer that noted players would retain blueprints, various currencies, and certain other materials in-between seasons. “This ensures all players start the new season on an equal footing and can enjoy playing together. New scenario types often offer different map designs, providing new exploration experiences and rewards. Each season server will also offer new season challenges to earn new rewards.”
At the end of its first week, Once Human now faces its toughest challenge: maintaining server capacity for everyone who wants to play. Characters are locked to a particular server once they’re created, and servers max out at around 6,000 to 8,000 players, at which point people are forced to wait in queues before they can start playing. That has to do with the developers wanting to keep instances of the open-world MMO from getting overcrowded.
In the meantime, though, Starry Studio says it’s raised those server limits and added more capacity to alleviate some of the issues, with more fixes coming in August. Once Human’s next patch on July 18 will also add “compensation” for players who spend too much time waiting in queues, presumably rewarding them for the time spent idle instead of grinding. For now, the studio is giving players lists of servers that are overcrowded for people to avoid. The worst fate in Once Human isn’t getting killed: it’s building an awesome base your friends can never visit.
The game’s rapid rise in popularity highlights both the potential and the pitfalls of launching a new MMO. On the one hand, the blend of survival, crafting, and exploration in a post-apocalyptic setting has clearly struck a chord with many players. The initial success on Steam, both in terms of player numbers and sales, suggests that there is a significant audience for this type of game. However, the issues that have emerged during the first week also underscore the challenges that come with managing a large and active player base.
Privacy concerns, in particular, have been a major issue for Once Human. The backlash against NetEase’s privacy policy shows how sensitive players are to the collection and use of their personal data. Even if the policy is similar to those of other games, the perception of surveillance and data misuse can have a significant impact on a game’s reputation and player trust. The response from Starry Studios and the improvement in the game’s rating suggest that the developers are taking these concerns seriously, but it will be important for them to continue to address privacy issues transparently and proactively.
Gameplay design choices have also been a source of contention. The use of a gacha-style Wish Machine to unlock rare blueprints has been criticized by some players, even though the currency required for it cannot be purchased with real money. Similarly, the initial decision to limit players to one character per server and to lock cosmetics to a single character were both unpopular and have since been revised. These changes show that the developers are listening to player feedback and are willing to make adjustments to improve the game experience.
The seasonal resets are perhaps the most controversial aspect of Once Human. While the idea of resetting progress every six weeks is intended to create a level playing field and keep the game fresh, it can also be frustrating for players who invest a lot of time and effort into building their characters and exploring the world. The developers’ attempts to clarify what will and won’t be reset, and the rationale behind the resets, are important steps in addressing these concerns, but it will be important to monitor how players respond to this system over time.
Server capacity and queue times have been significant issues during the first week. The fact that characters are locked to specific servers and that those servers have relatively low player caps has led to long wait times and frustration for many players. The developers’ efforts to increase server limits and add capacity are welcome, but it remains to be seen whether these measures will be sufficient to meet demand. The introduction of compensation for players who spend too much time in queues is a nice gesture, but the ultimate solution will be ensuring that everyone who wants to play can do so without excessive delays.
Both successes and difficulties have come with Once Human’s launch. Although the game has a sizable and passionate player following thanks to its unique mix of genres and captivating gameplay, the problems that have surfaced show how challenging it is to create and run a brand-new massively multiplayer online game. Determining Once Human’s long-term success will depend greatly on how Starry Studios handles these problems in the upcoming weeks and months. Though the early enthusiasm and buzz are crucial, it will need constant attention to player input and a dedication to resolving issues as they come up to retain and expand a loyal player base.
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