Gondolas

Gondolas (ゴンドラ) are the primary means of travel on the 4th Floor of Aincrad in the official release of Sword Art Online.

Non-Player-Controlled Gondolas
Non-Player Character (NPC) controlled gondola services are offered in the main town of the floor, Rovia, at the cost of a fixed amount of cor per trip. The player may either designate the name of their destination or input the coordinates of their destination. The players may use an automatic calculator to distribute the fee of riding the gondola among the party members. If a player steps out of the gondola, the trip is considered complete and the gondolier leaves to their default location, thus the players have to use another gondola and pay the fee again to continue travelling. The NPCs do not offer trips outside of the town due to the influence of the Water Carriers Guild.

Creation
Players may create their own gondolas to travel freely without needing to swim by completing a part of the Shipwright of Yore quest given by Romolo in Rovia. Once the players gather the necessary materials for their gondola, they have the option to customise the design of their ship, give it a name, and equip optional equipment. It takes three hours for a gondola to be completed once the design is finalised. The largest gondola that can be made is a ten-seat version; however, the gondolier is not counted, thus each gondola can carry one additional person, as one of the players have to be the gondolier.

Controls
According to Kirito, the controls of a gondola are not complicated. Tilting the oar forward causes the gondola to move forward. Tilting it backwards causes the gondola to move backwards. Pushing the oar left or right results in the respective turn.

Anchoring
A player’s gondola can be fixed in place by either dropping an anchor or tying it to a bitt on the dock. Once the gondola is fixed, only the owner can unlock the ship. Mooring is completed by placing the rope noose over the post, allowing the system to finish the procedure. The player is informed of the boat being successfully secured via a pop-up window. When the gondola is untied from a bitt, the rope automatically snaps into a coil at the front of the boat.

Durability
Each gondola has a set durability value that is displayed as a stamina bar below the player’s party list in the top-left corner of their view. The gondola’s durability can be diminished by attacks from large monsters, collisions with obstacles, and battle with other boats. If the durability value reaches zero, the gondola will capsize; however, a capsized gondola recovers automatically after thirty seconds. The lost durability value can be restored by visiting a shipwright or using the Carpentry skill. The durability value is protected when the gondola is anchored and unmanned.

Trivia

 * An operation manual for player-controlled gondolas can be accessed via the gondola’s property window.