Why you should rotate your buildings in Citadelum (and how to do it)

In any type of city builder, building placement is essential. Sometimes it's necessary, linking a building to the road on a specific side. Like where the front door is.

In other cases, it's just for aesthetics. But for some players, aesthetics are just as important as productivity!

Update September 10th

As of a recent update, two things have changed regarding this article. 

First, there is now a visual reminder how to rotate buildings when you are building. The text Press 'R' key to rotate the building appears at the top of the screen. 

Second, pressing R is now the only way to rotate a building. Using the scroll wheel no longer works. 

This article has been updated with that information in mind. 

Direction is important

In Citadelum, the direction a building is placed in is definitely important. If their entrance isn't connected to a road, the building will not provide the job it is required to do. 

Take for instance these baths. Even though they are adjacent to the road at the top, citizens still can't enter the building. This is indicated by the exclamation mark notification hovering over the building.

Baths need their entrance connected to a road, otherwise citizens can't enter.

After turning the baths around by 180 degrees, the warning will disappear. The entrance to the baths is now adjacent to the road, which will allow the building to fulfil its task.

Almost all buildings have a specific entrance that needs to be connected to a road. That includes farms, camps and mines, temples and military buildings.

Exceptions to entrance direction

Almost all buildings? Yes, there are a few exceptions.

Decorations don't have an entrance, so can be placed however you want them. They don't even have to be connected to a road to increase the desirability of an area.

A Reservoir does not need to be connected to road. But, it does need to be connected to an aqueduct. This can be connected to either or all of the four sides of the basin.

Hotkey to rotate buildings

When selecting a building from the building menu in Citadelum, the direction of that building is indicated by a green arrow pointing from the building blueprint.

There currently is only 1 way to rotate a building while in building or moving mode. You used to be able to scroll the mouse wheel as well, but that feature was removed in a recent update of the game.

Press R

Using the keyboard, you can press the R-key.

With each press, the blueprint will turn 90 degrees to the left (clockwise).