Need verification about building arrows...

[Larry]

In one place, I saw that it said the green arrows that appear on some buildings (when placing them) are simply to tell you where the 'front(s)' of the building are, purely for aesthetics (if you want them all facing a certain way, etc).... Yet, in a video, the guy claims they are intended to attach to roads, and are 'necessary' for proper delivery of items to the building.

Could anyone tell me what the (current) reality is, regarding the green arrows? Do buildings even 'have' to be connected by roads (for the purpose of deliveries)? I was under the impression they weren't (...although roads obviously allow for higher speeds of travel).

[RonEmpire]

Doesn't seem to matter. I believe its just the entry point they go towards for efficiency.

But really, I've placed buildings down with the arrows facing into another building and they walk through the other buildings towards my placed building just fine.

The only collision it seems is the walls/fences you place down. Otherwise the buildings themselves seem to be accessible through other buildings. They prefer to walk along roads though.

[SgtScum]

Its arbitrary depending on the structure. You want the barn entry to face an open area so the cows can get in and out or you run into pathing issues. Same with the wagon shop it has to face an open area. Houses however can be build in large areas right next to each other so homes in the middle with no access to roads still function.

[wcpwnsuto]

Yeah its just an efficiency thing. The AI when needing to deliver things tend to go through the doorway to deliver the items. SO if the door is facing the road(the green arrow) it is slightly faster than having to go around or sometimes just going straight through buildings to deliver the items.

[Larry]

Okay, that's how I've been using it, too. The guy in the vid gave me a bit of a scare, as I not only have buildings at 'random' angles (whatever looks best), but I also worried (after that vid) that the fact that most of my houses aren't attached to a road (since they are clumped together in a group) might explain why some of them seem very stubborn about not getting certain critical items, like water or food variety (when they are readily available, and their neighbours have them, too).

[Teralitha]

You dont even need roads in this game. I stopped building them at all and my village is much more efficient now.

[Ninjafroggie]

You litterally dont need roads at all right now, as people can just make their way through yards and stuff, but people DO walk faster along them, especially cobblestone ones. It can be a good idea to use them for things like the path people take to get from your residential area to the fields or industrial area, any place with long travel distances and/or heavy, consistent foot traffic

[SgtScum]

Currently roads serve as a way to more cleanly organize your town but as others have said they will then follow those roads sometimes taking a longer overall path than just walking in a beeline for their destination.

[Larry]

Yup and yup... I use them in as main roadways (frequent paths), but have all the building clumped together in the 'city blocks' between them. The speed boost is the main reason I use them (...useful when chased by bears and wolves)... plus, ya, they kind of help organize things. I wasn't sure if delivery carts required them, but I know that people and the starter cart are perfectly fine going offroad.