The shield around Alexander...

[KarstenS]

We didn't saw it on the artworks.

We didn't saw it in the benchmark.

So why is it here? Just to prevent flying around?

They put it into the story. Yes.

But wasn't there another way to get flying and collision detection handled with different progress level?

To show what I mean there is a picture.



Before you finish the main story at the place number 1 was just a formation of rocks like in place number 2. So the rocks in place number 2 are a placeholder for the other foot that will appear with the next quest.

Place number 3 is exactly like the plattform on his head you can see when you look through the shield. Even the chinmeys are there as rocks now. When you walk around at place number 3 you can already listen to the mashine sounds.

[RayneBoemir]

Maybe the shield is there preventing him from fully getting up, and we haven't gotten to that part yet when it weakens?

[lololink]

The shield is protecting it, it appeared when the project alexander was launched 3 years ago but the summoned failed somehow, only this shield stood up, I guess it's supposed to protect it the time for it to eat enough Aether to be fully operationnal.

[WhiteArchmage]

There's a sight on the platform in #3 and I WAS wondering what will happen to those islands once the barrier inevitably falls. For now, we can't say anything for certain except speculate that the next phases will have Alexander rising up further and replacing the central island, if that dispells or just pierces the barrier (as shown with the first "hand") is another thing.

Also, seeing as how Alexander's hande effortlessly pierced said barried, we can say it's made for keeping people OUT rather than IN, meaning, as the previous poster said, it's meant to protect the giant...from what? us?

[Velox]

But wasn't there another way to get flying and collision detection handled with different progress level?

Simple answer? Yes there are many ways to handle collision detection in video games, but some ways are easier to implement and are less resource intensive than others. Since Alexander comprises of a static mass (same as rocks, trees, mountains, etc), putting up a bounding box makes collisions easier to work with since you don't have to check if models themselves are interacting (which involves calculating for each segment every update cycle). It also makes collisions more smooth and lessens the possibility of a player getting stuck in an odd void. Now bounding boxes are invisible, but it would be stupid to have areas of just "invisibleness" that blocks your path between point A and point B. The rocks and shield provide for a more realistic and lore-friendly placeholder models for the collision bounds rather than have nothing there and trying to explain why people can't move.