Originally posted by wizard_of_woz:

Originally posted by jonnin:

Yes, it is unrealistic. Clearly diagonal support is a thing and its actually stronger than pure up/down. Also buttresses are a thing, and we can't do that 100% correctly either (its sorta possible, but its just a game stunt abusing the mechanics).

you don't need to loft a pole through the whole works to support a roof, though. Instead, have the strong support in your walls and build the roof from the walls up, and it will hold if you did not go too high. If you went too high, a middle support at just the top level or two will do.

You think diagonal supports are stronger than posts? Ok then...

It depends on what you do with it. By itself, one post, absolutely not. As part of a whole, angled can meet up at one point and share the load across the beams while uprights do not work together at a single point. Both have their uses. Most things designed for heavy loads actually have both, eg a table with 4 legs and each leg with a slant or arch to the middle of the horizontal surface.