Once Human News

So I’ve just hopped on my motorbike, enjoying one of several pleasingly incongruent classical musical tracks that plays from the radio, on my way to tick tasks off a list in the top right corner of my screen by scavenging an abandoned hospital. It’s a great hospital, by the way. Spotlight-headed phantasma shamble about corridors reminiscent of The Division 2 or The Last Of Us’s naturalia.

Striking, but also within easy reach of comparisons. And if Once Human was purely the collection of x from ys it very much appears to be, I’m not sure I’d have much positive to say about it. On the surface, what you're getting here is a 6/10 third-person shooter from ten years ago that gleefully spills thumbtacks along any simple paths to progress with live service obfuscation, propped up by a detached crafting and building economy that has you popping mined rocks and chopped wood in the oven then taking out freshly baked shotguns a few minutes later. Its systems run the gamut from numbly enjoyable to being a source of major psychic damage, and even the simple act of replacing your initial tier I rustic baseball cap means navigating several menus, currencies, and resources.

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Once Human developer Starry Studio has had to introduce server player limits, leading to long waiting times - but you'll get something out of the hassle at least.

Like seemingly a lot of games these days, Once Human is one of those titles that has gotten popular astronomically quickly leading you to think "where the hell did you come from?" It's so popular in fact it's now managed to hit a concurrent player count peak of 231,668, according to SteamDB. But, of course, like many games before it that have been hit with a launch reception bigger than expected, it's not gone down all that well. Many players are struggling to get into the game as Starry Studio has placed a limit on how many can be on a particular server, leading many to be stuck in long waiting queues.

To explain the reasoning behind its decision, Starry put out a brief Q&A in a recent post, where it explained that "after analyzing our online server data, we discovered that the increase in the number of players exceeded our previous expectations. When too many players are on the same server, we risk losing server data. Also, too many players being on the same server can affect the gaming experience as players will have to queue before they can log in. That is why we have no other choice but to limit the number of players on each server. But we'll admit that this has indeed caused inconvenience for some players, so we are working on improving that. We apologize for the inconvenience."

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Once Human has peaked at 231,668 concurrent players on 14 July 2024 within the release week.
View charts and more statistics on our website.

I. Why do you limit the number of players on each server? My friends and I couldn't get on the same server because of this.
After analyzing our online server data, we discovered that the increase in the number of players exceeded our previous expectations. When too many players are on the same server, we risk losing server data. Also, too many players being on the same server can affect the gaming experience as players will have to queue before they can log in. That is why we have no other choice but to limit the number of players on each server. But we'll admit that this has indeed caused inconvenience for some players, so we are working on improving that. We apologize for the inconvenience.

II. Why will it affect the gaming experience when too many players are on the same server? Are you deliberately blocking out players and having them wait in queue?
Once Human is an open-world survival building game where resources on the map are limited in numbers. If too many players get on the same server, they will have a hard time finding a suitable spot to create their territory. Additionally, some late-game content such as the Stronghold Conquest for PvP servers will be affected. According to our previous test data, we discovered that the current scenarios could offer a better gaming experience if the number of players on each server was limited between 6,000 and 8,000. That's why we've set a limit. Once that limit is exceeded, players will have to wait in queue. This is all for the online players to enjoy a better gaming experience.
After the game was officially released, numerous players from around the world joined the action. From our backend data, we can see that many Metas are still hard at work exploring and having an adventure in this game. As more new players join us every day, some servers are now so crowded that players will have to wait in a queue to join them, and because of this, we had to limit the number of players on each server. We are deeply sorry for the inconvenience this may have caused you.

III. How many servers are full now? How should I select my server?
There are 9 full servers across all regions, including:


Too many players have registered for the following servers, so we suggest that you avoid these servers if you are planning to invite your friends:



IV. How do you plan to improve the servers that are full?
We are hard at work finding a solution to bring you a better gaming experience. This will include a temporary measure and a future roadmap:
1) Shortly, we will raise the limit for each server. This will significantly make the situation better by allowing players to go on the server of their choice. But this measure is not a long-term solution, so you should still try to avoid servers that seem too crowded.
2) In our next patch note, we'll keep you updated on the number of players that have registered for each server to help you better decide which servers to join, especially when you are ready to invite your friends as well.
3) In our August update, we will add an invitation code feature so that you can invite players to join your server even when the server is already full.

V. I noticed that I now have to wait in a queue to enter some servers. What measures have you taken to resolve this issue?
We are aware of this issue and hard at work to fix it. With our temporary measure implemented, we've raised the player limit for each server and improved the system that recommends servers to new players. We also have personnel taking shifts and working 24 hours a day to make new servers available so that we can welcome more players to the game.
In the upcoming patch update (July 18), we will further improve the queuing experience to offer compensation for those who spend too long waiting in a queue. Meanwhile, we'll add more worlds to each server so that you can enjoy the same together with your friends.
We understand that you eagerly want to have fun with your friends. We assure you that our team is hard at work resolving issues related to server loads, and we are doing all that we can to improve the queuing issue.

1. Will paid content, especially high-value paid content (such as Battle Pass), be shareable across multiple characters?
Absolutely! From the beginning, we planned to make paid content (such as Cosmetics, Furniture, and Weapon Skins you purchase) usable across all characters under one account. In this way, you can freely choose to play with friends on different servers. However, this feature has taken longer to implement than we expected. We now plan to introduce this feature during the maintenance on the morning of August 1 (PT). Once the update is complete, you'll be able to share these paid cosmetics across all characters under one account.
In the meantime, we recommend that you refrain from making purchases for multiple characters, as this sharing feature will soon enhance your multi-character game experience.
* Since the free tiers of the Battle Pass contain item rewards, to ensure fairness among players, the Battle Pass Level will not be shared across all characters under one account. However, cosmetic rewards from the paid tiers of the Battle Pass can be used by multiple characters.

2. How will the sharing feature work? What content will be shareable?
To ensure the rules are simple and clear while honoring your payment experience, we will share both the currency you acquire through recharges and the cosmetics you purchase.
1) Currency acquired through recharges: Any "Crystgin" currency you obtain by recharging on any character will be accumulated together, usable by any character under the same account
2) Purchased cosmetics: All cosmetics you acquire through any payment method will be usable by all characters under the same account, including:
· All cosmetics purchased from the Shop, such as Character Cosmetics, Weapon Skins, and Furniture Skins
· All cosmetic rewards from the paid tiers of the Battle Pass (including Cosmetics obtained through OE Secret Key and Stardust's Advent Premium)
· Any future cosmetic rewards that require Crystgins or direct purchase
* Items bought from the Shop, such as Renaming Cards and Chrysalis Tokens, will only be usable by the current character. All purchasable content that can be used by multiple characters will be clearly indicated in the item tips. Please stay tuned for future updates

3. What if I've already made purchases for multiple characters under one account before August 1?
1) If you have Crystgins on multiple characters, Crystgins will be accumulated.
2) If you've purchased the same cosmetic multiple times from the Shop, you will receive a Crystgin refund for the duplicate purchases.
3) If you've bought multiple Battle Passes, you will be refunded an equivalent amount of Crystgins for the duplicate Battle Passes.
Please check future announcements for more detailed information.

4. After the 6-week season server ends, will all my content (paid and non-paid) be deleted? If not, how will it be transferred/retained? Will they be transferred to the same character?
Of course not! We've noticed that many players are concerned about their progress being wiped after 6 weeks. Here, we want to formally assure you that
this will never happen! We greatly value the effort you put into the game. Items and gear obtained in the season scenario can be retained in various ways.
(1) The following content will always be retained with your character and will not change with the end of a season or server:
a. Important currencies: Starchrom, Crystgin, Mitsuko's Mark, Stellar Planula, and Sproutlet
b. Gear Blueprints (and their ratings), Blueprint Fragments, Weapon Accessories, and Mods
c. Furniture formulas (excluding those unlocked by Memetics; Memetic-unlocked parts will be based on the allocation of character Memetic Points)
d. All paid or free Cosmetics, including outfits, actions, namecards
e. House Blueprints: Once saved, you can restore buildings at any time (high-level materials will be replaced with low-level materials during reconstruction)
f. Main and side story task progress (Completed main/side story tasks can be re-completed in the simplified mode in the new season, with full rewards)
g. Your friends list will be fully retained, and you can view the member lists of Warbands you joined in previous seasons. You can also add former Warbands members as friends if needed
(2) When starting a new season, you can selectively carry some resources for your new journey:
Common resources such as materials, medicines, and bullets (can be partially carried according to transfer rules to support your growth in the new season)
(3) 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. 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 experience and rewards. Each season server will also offer new season challenges to earn new rewards.