Sword Art Online - Episode 12 Discussion / Poll

[Kamui04]

Originally Posted by Kazu-kun

An AI shouldn't need a console, specially not one like Yui. She should have an internal terminal. In fact, I'm surprised she even has a body, since as far as I can tell she wasn't designed to interact with players.

Actually it's totally the contrary to what you wrote. As she explained she was specifically designed to interact with players since she's the Mental Health Counseling Program, or to put it simply she's your psychologist or therapist. And from her explanation she was quarantined from the rest of SAO and forbidden to interact with the players after Kayaba changed the game.

[Clarste]

Originally Posted by Kazu-kun

An AI shouldn't need a console, specially not one like Yui. She should have an internal terminal. In fact, I'm surprised she even has a body, since as far as I can tell she wasn't designed to interact with players.

But then, this is SAO, so I probably should focus on Yui's super cute smile instead of trying to make sense of it.

She doesn't need the console. The console is for the human GMs which don't exist because of what Kayaba did. She just happens to have GM-level system authorization so she could use the console if she wanted, not that she needed to. As far as I can tell she only used the console to demonstrate what it was (she touched it and the keyboard appeared).

Yui herself is basically a dummied out game feature.

[Deltaray]

Google translating Kawaharas twitter, if there is anything to trust in gt Yui used gm sword balmung.

[relentlessflame]

Originally Posted by Clarste

She doesn't need the console. The console is for the human GMs which don't exist because of what Kayaba did. She just happens to have GM-level system authorization so she could use the console if she wanted, not that she needed to. As far as I can tell she only used the console to demonstrate what it was (she touched it and the keyboard appeared).

I think this make sense... but one point remains. Why do the hypothetical human GMs need a "physical" in-game console when they're already using NerveGear? They could just have a "GM" menu right in their existing options...

Well, this isn't really that big of a deal anyway. It's just a bit of a mystery.

[Algent]

Originally Posted by Kazu-kun

That makes no sense either. Why would an admin need an external console? They should have the console built into their Nerve Gear, easily accessible from their menu to use whenever they need to.

It was a necessary plot device, don't think too much into it.

Originally Posted by Clarste

Given that he was already logged in with a GM account I don't see why he would be required to do anything like hacking in the first place. The visual representation of it was pretty funky though. You'd expect it to look like a normal computer UI, Windows or something.

Since I read this part in the LN I always imagined some sort of GUI, I guess anime makers think it looked cooler to show some multicolored matrix like screens overlapping each others. Also I'm not sure it was supposed to last not even 5sec (but it's not like they have the time to slow some scene).

[Bombo]

Yui in action so scary ~~ and great animation for fighting scene .....
and yeah i will miss Yui chan ><

[ookamigirl]

Yui really is a mystery.
Asuna & Kirito on a rescue mission.
Watching those two fight over toad legs was LOL
Looks like that mission was not a breeze at all.
At least we got to see what kind of powers Yui has.
It was just amazing!!
I was suspecting she'd be some kind of a program.
Looks like I was right. This totally reminds me of .hack// again.

[Clarste]

Originally Posted by Bombo

Yui in action so scary ~~ and great animation for fighting scene .....
and yeah i will miss Yui chan ><

Speaking of which... does anyone think the scene would have been more effective if instead of summoning a giant flaming sword she'd just poked him and deleted (or rather, despawned, "deleted" is almost certainly the wrong word) him instantly? I know games are sometimes fond of giving GMs special fancy effects, but narratively it would probably have been powerful to see her completely breaking the rules rather than just having a powerful looking attack. I mean, isn't that why she's an Immortal Object instead of just having infinite HP?

[Esebian]

Originally Posted by relentlessflame

I think this make sense... but one point remains. Why do the hypothetical human GMs need a "physical" in-game console when they're already using NerveGear? They could just have a "GM" menu right in their existing options...

Well, this isn't really that big of a deal anyway. It's just a bit of a mystery.

Well yeah, that is a good question XD actually as said by Algent it seems to be a plot device unless you somehow NEED to have an ingame console for certain admin actions, but well that's just my guess (and a very poor guess on top of that )

EDIT: @ Clarste While that would be narratively better wouldn't it be the best if she just summoned a masou-shojo dress and pwned the boss with magic in terms of game breaking surprises? Well to be honest it really would have been better to see her deleting it by touching just to show that she is a GM while the boss is a normal monster. And not just overpowering it...

[jpwong]

Originally Posted by Esebian

Well yeah, that is a good question XD actually as said by Algent it seems to be a plot device unless you somehow NEED to have an ingame console for certain admin actions, but well that's just my guess (and a very poor guess on top of that )

I would imaging that having an actual console is like having a fire exit in a building. You shouldn't ever need to use it, but it's there in case of some catastrophic emergency.

[Netto Azure]

Originally Posted by jpwong

I would imaging that having an actual console is like having a fire exit in a building. You shouldn't ever need to use it, but it's there in case of some catastrophic emergency.

I thought about this too. But kinda felt not really pointing it out considering the premise of the story. xD

[Esebian]

Originally Posted by jpwong

I would imaging that having an actual console is like having a fire exit in a building. You shouldn't ever need to use it, but it's there in case of some catastrophic emergency.

O_O

That actually is a legit reason......damn me who couldn't come up with that

[Kazu-kun]

Originally Posted by Esebian

That actually is a legit reason......damn me who couldn't come up with that

Well, that doesn't explain why he put the fire exit in the middle of nowhere instead of putting it into his menu. It seems like the most logical thing to do imo.

But Yui was really cute so all in all it was an enjoyable episode.

[GDB]

Originally Posted by Conan-san

So basically Kirito went

Spoiler:

Izzy

on the system's ass?

Basically.

[Esebian]

Originally Posted by Kazu-kun

Well, that doesn't explain why he put the fire exit in the middle of nowhere instead of putting it into his menu. It seems like the most logical thing to do imo.

In the White House, would you put the fire exit in the Oval Office? Every fire exit can be accessed from both sides hence you put it in a place you in this case as GM can easily reach BUT which is also protected for any unauthorizised access hence the boss. Ah and btw if Kayabe puts this console ingame instead of in the Nerve Gear he can access it ingame...so another attack point for hackers in the real world is cut off as the GM doesn't monitor the game from outside but from the inside.

[relentlessflame]

Originally Posted by Kazu-kun

Well, that doesn't explain why he put the fire exit in the middle of nowhere instead of putting it into his menu. It seems like the most logical thing to do imo.

Well, there could be both. Let's say some sort of update was deployed that modified/bugged/broke the regular interface, or let's say that an administrator somehow got "de-modded" by Cardinal and so lost their regular Admin tools. I guess I can see why you might want some backup plan like: "if you can't use the regular interface through NerveGear, go to this secret spot in the game world and you can gain direct access to the system". There is some logic to it anyway.

Originally Posted by Esebian

Ah and btw if Kayabe puts this console ingame instead of in the Nerve Gear he can access it ingame...so another attack point for hackers in the real world is cut off as the GM doesn't monitor the game from outside but from the inside.

That doesn't make any sense at all. When we're talking about accessing the console through NerveGear, we mean through the UI that the players use to execute all the other commands (to access their inventory, equip weapons, toggle the "Ethics Off" option, and so on). This is all in-game.

And by the way: we don't even know what happened to the GM. As explained in this episode, the game is being managed by Cardinal now with no human input. Granted, of course, the game was probably built expecting there to be human involvement still (just like it was built with Yui in it), until Kabaya changed the rules of the game.

[vansonbee]

What a awkward episode. Hackers are the plot device of wins!

Originally Posted by Kamui04

Her VA is Shiraishi Ryoko.

Amazing, I could not recognize her w/o the accent. LOL

[joshuafaramir]

My explanation would that it was a backup plan or something.

Well according to SAO:

Spoiler for in comparison to novel:

It's a console installed there in the case that a GM requires urgent access."

[Rakshasa]

Originally Posted by Esebian

In the White House, would you put the fire exit in the Oval Office? Every fire exit can be accessed from both sides hence you put it in a place you in this case as GM can easily reach BUT which is also protected for any unauthorizised access hence the boss. Ah and btw if Kayabe puts this console ingame instead of in the Nerve Gear he can access it ingame...so another attack point for hackers in the real world is cut off as the GM doesn't monitor the game from outside but from the inside.

Also you have no idea how often programmers, when unrestrained, program cool features just cause we can.

[Mephos]

The moments after Yui spawned the op magic flaming ban sword of power, I was shedding tears. It made me cry reading it in the LN, it made me cry again in the anime.