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The 1st half of S1 is about people trapped in a game called SAO. The 2nd half
of S1 is not (directly! Haha) to do with SAO. I really forgot S2, but I don't
recall any SAO.

  1. Is anyone still playing (safe versions of) SAO?

  2. What references are there to SAO s.t. SAO is still 'indirectly' involved in the actual series?

Eg in the 2nd half of S1

> Kayaba Akihiko shows up

Are there other similar remnants or residues of SAO in the 2nd half of s1 or
s2 onwards?


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2023-01-20T13:52:18.483
67690
2023-01-20T21:33:56.667
2023-01-20T14:46:30.383
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question
sword-art-online
Sword Art Online - Is it still SAO?


The game ALfheim Online (ALO), which was the focus of the second half of S1,
was developed based on the server and code from Sword Art Online (SAO).

> After Argus went bankrupt due to the Sword Art Online incident, its servers
> and data were acquired by RECT Progress Inc. and used to create the VRMMORPG
> ALfheim Online.

> As ALO is based on the core programming of SAO as a complete virtual reality
> MMORPG, the ALO system is capable of rendering the entire ALfheim
> environment with incredible realism, extremely similarly to the level of
> SAO.

[ALfheim Online](https://swordartonline.fandom.com/wiki/ALfheim_Online)

At the end of S1, the so-called _Seed_ was released, which was basically the
developer toolkit for SAO, allowing everyone to create their own FullDive
games (for example, Gun Gale Online, which was the focus of the first half of
S2, or Underworld).

> The Seed is a free, preset series of program packages that can be used for
> creating Virtual Reality (VR) worlds as well as control the input and output
> of the five senses of the players, allowing players to FullDive into the
> created world.

> «The Seed» includes the basic programs needed to create a VR world, such as
> the audio and video system, as well as a downsized version of the Cardinal
> System, which was used in Sword Art Online to help in the development and to
> maintain control of the game.

[World Seed](https://swordartonline.fandom.com/wiki/World_Seed)

> Is anyone still playing (safe versions of) SAO?

Yes. At the end of S1 they added a copy of Aincrad (the world of SAO) to ALO
allowing the players to play through it (creatively named [New
Aincrad](https://swordartonline.fandom.com/wiki/Aincrad#New_Aincrad_\(ALO_Version\))).
For example, the [Mother's
Rosario](https://swordartonline.fandom.com/wiki/Mother%27s_Rosario) arc takes
place in New Aincrad. On a side note, the original SAO itself was
theoretically safe to play. The dangerous part was the hardware in form of the
[NerveGear](https://swordartonline.fandom.com/wiki/NerveGear). Playing it with
the newer [AmuSphere](https://swordartonline.fandom.com/wiki/AmuSphere) should
be fine, except that you can't log out (but if someone else removes the
device, it should work).

> What references are there to SAO s.t. SAO is still 'indirectly' involved in
> the actual series?

Since, as far as I know, every FullDive game is at least indirectly based on
SAO's code, you could say that the original game is still indirectly very
relevant to the series.


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