Developer Starry Studio has announced that dedicated zones for trading are coming to Once Human. In a post on Steam, the studio expanded on the feature that allows players to trade Deviations directly with each other, or through Vending Machines.
“In Nalcott, trading plays a crucial role in fostering social connections,” wrote the studio. “Not only does it help you acquire new items, but it can also spark friendships with people you might never have encountered otherwise.”
The studio has explained that, before the addition of dedicated trading zones, players would place their Vending Machines in zones like Blackfell so that they could be seen and used by the most number of players. This, in turn, caused a host of problems, including lag, as well as obstructions that players had to figure out a way through.
The dedicated trading zone, dubbed the Harvesters’ Market, is now available in Once Human thanks to today’s update. The Harvesters’ Markets will be available in the Manibus, Evolution’s Call, and The Way of Winter scenarios. Prismverse’s Clash, however, will not be getting the market owing to the scenario’s faction-based gameplay.
These specific scenarios were chosen for the Harvesters’ Market thanks to a variety of factors, chief among them being low player density. In these zones, players can put down their own Special Vending Machines that can then be used by other players for trade.
Players affected by the positioning of these new Harvesters’ Market due to the borders of their own territories will have to relocate. These players will get in-game notifications to let them know, however. Players that weren’t able to relocate before the market went live won’t lose anything; their territory will simply be recalled automatically, and can be placed down again in a new area.
To use the new Special Vending Machines, players will have to make sure to unlock the regular Vending Machine through the Memetic system. Players can also customise their Special Vending Machines by using the same skins as the ones used for regular Vending Machines. These Special Vending Machines will also not require a power connection.
As for the potential clutter from unused and inactive Special Vending Machines, the studio has stated that these will be recalled automatically. The player that owns one of these Special Vending Machines will automatically get refunded the building materials for it. Previously-listed items will automatically be for sale once again when the player puts down a new Special Vending Machine.
It is also worth noting that each player will be restricted to only being able to put down a single Special Vending Machine. This decision was made in order for the Harvesters’ Markets to be able to accommodate as many players as possible.
Regular Vending Machines are also getting a new feature in the form of the freezer. This new feature will allow players to list food items for sale for longer stretches of time without the food going bad.
Along with the Harvesters’ Markets, Once Human‘s latest update also brought with it new permanent scenario servers. For more details, check out our coverage of the studio’s update roadmap for the near future.
