Open Settlement Placement and Zoom Into the River
To check river direction, select Build a settlement and zoom into the river. Inspect its flow before deciding where a river-dependent settlement or region should go. This is especially important for demo raft routes, which can transport goods downstream only.
The official County of Fortune demo FAQ provides that viewing method directly. The same FAQ recommends checking flow while choosing the first settlement, rather than waiting until a freight route has already been built.
Read Direction as a Transport Constraint
A river's presence does not mean two regions can trade heavy goods in either direction. In the demo, rafts cannot return upstream. That makes the relationship between a resource source and its intended receiver part of your settlement planning.
Stone is a clear example. It cannot move between regions by road in the demo, so a region relying on imported stone needs a suitable downstream river connection from the supply region.
The official restriction also covers logs, clay, and sand. A road that handles lighter trade does not remove their need for river freight.
Plan the Route After Checking Flow
Level-2 settlements can access raft ports through their Commoner building tab. Provide appropriate endpoints in the regions you want to connect, then open trading with T, select the goods, and add the regional trade route.
Compare the route you intend to create with the flow you inspected. If your destination lies upstream of the source, changing the automatic quantity cannot make the demo raft travel in the opposite direction.
Check source stock as well. A valid direction establishes that the route is possible; it does not guarantee that the required good is currently being produced or available to send.
Avoid Inventing a Different Flow Tool
The obtained official instructions name settlement placement and zooming into the river. They do not specify a separate river-overlay hotkey, an exact arrow color, or a numerical flow-speed display.
Use the current game's visible river information through that documented view. For more flexible transport, the developers announce Early Access ports and sailboats capable of traveling both upstream and downstream. Those announced vessels are different from the demo's downstream-only rafts.
FAQ
Which view should I open to inspect flow?
Choose Build a settlement, then zoom into the river.
Why does flow matter before I place a settlement?
It determines whether a later downstream-only raft route can carry heavy goods from a source region to its destination.
Can auto-trade reverse the allowed route direction?
No. Auto-trade adjusts the traded quantity according to demand; it does not change raft movement rules.
Is a separate flow-overlay keyboard shortcut confirmed?
Not in the obtained official FAQ. The documented method uses settlement placement and zooming.