Since the launch of the new Prismverse's Clash scenario, we have received many complaints and suggestions through the Once Human Co-Dev Feedback Platform and other channels. We have reviewed your feedback and acknowledge that the scenario is not up to standards. Here, we would like to respond to some of the issues and questions you have raised.
Q: When designing the Prismverse's Clash scenario, what kind of experience did you want to offer players?
A: In Evolution's Call, PvP is restricted to Warbands and specific areas. As Once Human's world already features many factions, we wanted to provide a more free and open PvP experience based around faction battles. At the same time, our idea was that there wouldn't be too much PvP pressure on individual players, since players from each faction could cooperate and rely on each other.
Q: The most frequently reported issue is the imbalance between factions. How do you plan to address the problems with faction balance?
A: Firstly, we would like to offer our sincere apologies. In its current state, Prismverse's Clash does have serious balance issues, with some servers even becoming completely one-sided. This was not our intention and we are deeply sorry for the inconvenience it has brought you.
Faction balance has always been difficult to plan and achieve in faction scenario related games. To address the much-reported issue where one faction greatly outnumbers the other, we plan on adjusting the registration process so that the scenario will only start once both factions are at full capacity.
We will also give the trailing faction more chances to turn the tables. Even with equal numbers, differences in teamwork capacity and terrain may still result in score imbalances. Hence, giving the trailing faction more countermeasures will be a key focus in our adjustment plans. We want to ensure that every phase of the scenario is enjoyable for all players.
We will continue to refine Prismverse's Clash until its quality is satisfactory. We will also adjust the scenario sign-up system so that you can decide which scenarios are available, rather than having a set list of scenarios that you have to choose from. The new scenario system and scenario exit function will be launched with the October 17 patch.
Q: Many players have been reporting recently with concerns regarding game lag due to server stability issues. Has any optimization been made?
- We have been working on the server stability issue quite a bit. Several rounds of optimization has been done and we are continuing to complete more optimization on it. The next round will be completed by the end of October. Hopefully we should see improvement there.
Q: Some PvE players tried Prismverse's Clash as an interim scenario while waiting for The Way of Winter to be released, but then found it wasn't to their tastes. What are your views on this situation?
A: Originally, The Way of Winter and Prismverse's Clash were planned to launch simultaneously. However, since The Way of Winter involved a large amount of content, including new mechanics such as temperature survival and Thermal Towers, we needed more time for testing and quality control. As a result, we decided to delay The Way of Winter's release. This led to PvE players being "forced" to play Prismverse's Clash for various reasons, such as earning Starchroms or wanting to sign up for The Way of Winter as soon as possible. We sincerely apologize for this.
Once Human is a seasonal game with multiple scenarios, and we want players to be able to choose which scenario to play purely based on their personal preferences. To achieve this, we will implement the following changes:
1. Adjusting how Starchroms are obtained. Starchroms will no longer be linked to specific scenarios. Instead, you will be able to earn the same amount of Starchroms in any scenario, so long as you meet the activity requirements. This system should prevent any scenario-based FOMO and is expected to launch in early 2025.
2. Adding a scenario exit function. This will be released with The Way of Winter on October 17.
3. Introducing more scenarios and scenario tags of varying durations to provide more gameplay options.
Q: What about the reports that players are exploiting special conditions in Prismverse's Clash to become invincible during territory purification?
A: Exploiting bugs to break the rules and affect the gaming experience is strictly prohibited. We have already issued the notice titled "Penalty Rules for Prismverse's Clash" regarding this issue. If you encounter any prohibited behavior, you can report it in the game or to our customer support team. Offenders face an account ban of at least 30 days, annulment of their personal Contribution and Prism Energy, and demolishment of any offending buildings. We are currently fixing the bug and have already dealt with more than 30 offenders. More updates will be provided in the next Fair Play Announcement.
We have also noticed feedback from some players regarding unsuccessful reports. After investigation, we found that there are two primary ways the bug is exploited:
1. The offending player uses a teammate's territory for purification. You can either report the player or the territory, including the player's UID in your report. We will conduct a thorough investigation and further improve our handling of such cases.
2. Prism Energy appears above some of the offending player's buildings, but the Securement Unit has not actually been purified.
Please continue to submit feedback and reports. We will continue to crack down on behavior that exploits loopholes to break the game rules or affect the experience.
Q: What about reports where players have difficulty distinguishing friend from foe during combat?
A: This is a known issue and is caused by a bug. We will fix the bug soon.
Finally, here is a progress report regarding various reported bugs in the Prismverse's Clash scenario:
1. Lost Deviations
- If you accidentally forget Deviations in Securement Units in a friend's territory when signing up for a new scenario, the Deviations will be returned to your Spacetime Backpack when your friend leaves their current scenario or demolishes the relevant Securement Units. If the above conditions are met, and you haven't received your Deviations, you can log into your Eternaland to trigger a refresh and retrieve them. We will optimize this process in the future.
2. Cannot open doors with access cards (Wild Dog Isle Outpost, Gaia Research Center)
- Fixed.
3. "The Northern Tour" NPC Ankh disappears
- Fixed.
4. In the wilderness, a Teleportation Tower appears on the map and its UI is visible, but the tower itself is not visible
- Fixed.
5. Missing new season mail
- After you sign up for and enter a new scenario, all mail in your Mailbox will be deleted. All attached items and rewards will be claimed automatically and transferred to the new season based on the season inheritance rules. For more details, refer to the season inheritance rules in the game.
a. Items that can be carried over to the new season will be claimed automatically by the current character.
b. Items that can be transferred to Eternaland will be sent to your Eternaland Depot when you enter a new scenario.
c. Items that cannot be carried over across seasons will be discarded.
6. Cannot relocate territory after the update
- A bug that prevented players from relocating damaged territories was resolved on October 2. Another relocation bug, caused by loading errors, is still being worked on and will be fixed soon.
7. Some players were getting stuck on the faction selection screen
- Fixed.
8. Deviations float into safe zones in sphere form, making them impossible to capture
- Fixed.
9. Prism Deviations cannot be brought out of the "Dig to Hell" Public Crisis Event
- Fixed.
10. Territory purification would be stuck if buildings were underwater
- Fixed.
Once again, we sincerely apologize for the subpar gaming experience. Rest assured that we are carefully reviewing all of your feedback. Some issues stem from oversights in the design process, while others are due to lingering bugs. We humbly accept all criticism and questions and are working urgently on the necessary fixes. The reason we chose to address your feedback in this issue of Dev Talk is to issue a formal apology. We acknowledge that the issues with Prismverse's Clash are due to our inexperience. Please give us time to make the necessary adjustments and shape Prismverse's Clash into the fair and thrilling faction battle scenario that it should be.
That's all for this edition of Dev Talk. Thank you for holding us accountable and giving us your suggestions and criticisms. We promise to take them to heart and do everything we can to optimize the game. If you have any other feedback or anything you would like to say to us, feel free to leave a comment!
Once Human Development Team
