Yes, I also noticed Zelkova's admission, during that kerfuffle. That is something that I have been wondering for some time; however, I did question Hien-san a little bit about that recently. He has claimed to me that there are other human administrators in the game of which he is the leader- Zelkova aside- but when I asked when we might see them, he demurred to give any other specifics. I do question whether that was a truthful reply, given we have seen no other CC Corp presence publicly within the game.
That said, it is clear that Zelkova differs from the other NPC's in the game in terms of intelligence and ability. It bears questioning, I think, why only some AI present in the game seem capable of that level of depth. A limitation on programming/processing power? Or might it be a mitigation of some risk that was found in earlier testing?
I'm sure there was a lot of experimentation done with these AI programs before we have gotten to the point we are at now. As you say, perhaps what we are brushing up against are remnants of that.
The hall of mirrors is an interesting one. I haven't participated in that part of the carnival simply due to a lack of interest, but it presents an even more significant danger than even "dv" being capable of scraping basic information to present to us directly, if it can be presented without any direct interaction and to other players as well.
My. Does that mean you saw something from Hien-san? I don't suppose you'll tell me what you saw? Haha. [unless........?]
[This next part: give him a week or two and Matoba will be able to comment on it more directly. But, for now:]
I have suspected this since you first told me about the "love" effect. There doesn't seem to be a particular way to guard ourselves against these effects either, other than to simply not partake of various aspects of the game.
By the way, on that note- be wary of the drinks in the guild halls.
Re: Physical effects.
It's good to know at least that some of these mysteries are intended parts of the game, hm? Even if I'm no help when it comes to German. By the way, do you have any thoughts on the bits of plot we've been shown so far? It's quite the mystery, isn't it? Some sort of ancient evil being released over time. I wonder when we will see the first boss appear.
I haven't yet suffered any physical effects offline as a result of an area exploration, but it's concerning that they seem to be testing these new special area releases on us that consistently have some ill side effects. Ought to be wary of testing these going forward, hm? I wonder who is really doing the testing here.
But in any case, don't forget. This game is all in our imagination. That's the magic of immersive reality, don't you think?
By the way, regarding Hien-san.
It's to my interests to learn just what exactly someone like him is really doing here, playing babysitter to a bunch of 堅気. Surely you have noticed as well? A man like that isn't something like a mere software engineer.
But I was able to get something like a hint.
Well, I have no intentions of being cozy with that man, given what I've come to suspect of him. So you don't really have to worry about anything like that. In fact, I'm willing to tell you certain things about him, if you are willing to share the same with me.
I don't have any intentions of damaging my good relationship with you, Mithrun-san. I'd appreciate a little respect in return, you know?
[That said: threaten him again, and see what happens.]
[(Don't worry, a few days after these messages are sent, things will be a liiiiiittle different. But Matoba is nothing if not a professional; business comes before pleasure.)]
laughing w/ salad at these last paragraphs, this is fine
Yes, I also noticed Zelkova's admission, during that kerfuffle. That is something that I have been wondering for some time; however, I did question Hien-san a little bit about that recently. He has claimed to me that there are other human administrators in the game of which he is the leader- Zelkova aside- but when I asked when we might see them, he demurred to give any other specifics. I do question whether that was a truthful reply, given we have seen no other CC Corp presence publicly within the game.
That said, it is clear that Zelkova differs from the other NPC's in the game in terms of intelligence and ability. It bears questioning, I think, why only some AI present in the game seem capable of that level of depth. A limitation on programming/processing power? Or might it be a mitigation of some risk that was found in earlier testing?
I'm sure there was a lot of experimentation done with these AI programs before we have gotten to the point we are at now. As you say, perhaps what we are brushing up against are remnants of that.
The hall of mirrors is an interesting one. I haven't participated in that part of the carnival simply due to a lack of interest, but it presents an even more significant danger than even "dv" being capable of scraping basic information to present to us directly, if it can be presented without any direct interaction and to other players as well.
My. Does that mean you saw something from Hien-san? I don't suppose you'll tell me what you saw? Haha. [unless........?]
[This next part: give him a week or two and Matoba will be able to comment on it more directly. But, for now:]
I have suspected this since you first told me about the "love" effect. There doesn't seem to be a particular way to guard ourselves against these effects either, other than to simply not partake of various aspects of the game.
By the way, on that note- be wary of the drinks in the guild halls.
Re: Physical effects.
It's good to know at least that some of these mysteries are intended parts of the game, hm? Even if I'm no help when it comes to German. By the way, do you have any thoughts on the bits of plot we've been shown so far? It's quite the mystery, isn't it? Some sort of ancient evil being released over time. I wonder when we will see the first boss appear.
I haven't yet suffered any physical effects offline as a result of an area exploration, but it's concerning that they seem to be testing these new special area releases on us that consistently have some ill side effects. Ought to be wary of testing these going forward, hm? I wonder who is really doing the testing here.
But in any case, don't forget. This game is all in our imagination.
That's the magic of immersive reality, don't you think?
By the way, regarding Hien-san.
It's to my interests to learn just what exactly someone like him is really doing here, playing babysitter to a bunch of 堅気. Surely you have noticed as well? A man like that isn't something like a mere software engineer.
But I was able to get something like a hint.
Well, I have no intentions of being cozy with that man, given what I've come to suspect of him. So you don't really have to worry about anything like that. In fact, I'm willing to tell you certain things about him, if you are willing to share the same with me.
I don't have any intentions of damaging my good relationship with you, Mithrun-san. I'd appreciate a little respect in return, you know?
[That said: threaten him again, and see what happens.]
[(Don't worry, a few days after these messages are sent, things will be a liiiiiittle different. But Matoba is nothing if not a professional; business comes before pleasure.)]