This game is like MYST

[draco454]

Was  just thinking this  afternoon. Rimworld is  like  MYST. SO far I have  learned  how  to identify what everything is on my world. But I cannot assign any abilities  or  task to my three  survivors. I can't even get them to pop up in the  window. I keep getting other characters that I don't even know.
My crew ran off and  have  disappeared. I have  no idea where  they are now. They are probably all dead  already. I started looking at the series of  4 tuts on U tube .... but what they said  and  what I tried to do were two different things. Like  I said... this  game  is like  MYST... as  in EVERYTHING is a  complete  mystery. I am just laughing at this game  now. I doubt that I will ever  take  anything seriously on the  game  when I am certain that each time  I log in I can expect a  different random result. I am going to continue  to watch the  U tube videos for  entertainment purpose. And  WIkki is  interesting for  the  detailed accounts. But attaching the  information to a  process and  expected result in the  game. I do not expect that anymore. Good  to kill time for 30 minutes occasionally, to see  how  ridiculously everything gets  all screwed  up tho. And  then I go back to actual rewarding and  productive  activities.

[erdrik]

... But I cannot assign any abilities  or  task to my three  survivors. I can't even get them to pop up in the  window. I keep getting other characters that I don't even know.
...

Can you post screenshots, or the names of the colonists you are getting versus the names of the ones you are expecting?

[Serenity]

Pawns don't just randomly leave the map for no reason. That's something you have full control over

[Bozobub]

Yeah, hard to understand what's going on there =x.

[draco454]

OK guys, thx  for  trying to help me  out here. I have  looked  at the  video on YouTube and  I have  read material on. I am still no closer  to understanding the  following. How  to am my crew with weapons and  skills. How  to build  anything. If  Icant even figure  that out, then I am at that crossroad  now where  I just keep clicking on everything and  watch what happens. Or  just shelve it and  hope  my sosn does  not ask me  how  the  game is  going. I am just so frustrated right now  I don't  know  if  I want to spend  anymore time  with the  game, as  I obviously still do not understand it, and I honestly don't know  if  I ever will.

[draco454]

ok... update. I have  to conclude  that the  game I downloaded is faulty. Screen freezes, cant equip pawns  with equipment. when I pause the  game  I cant do anything with them. take  it off  pause... off  they go and  disappear. Cant use  material to build and  so on. In short...EVERYTHING that is  stated on Wikki and in the  YouTube videos, does  not work. Even selecting pawns just goes randome when I try to select a  pawn. I have  to conclude  that the  download was  corrupt. This  is  TOO many things  going wrong. SO... after  contacting steam support and  being told in ONE  line... go look on Wikki... I am left with the  door  out... as  in walk away from it altogether. I appreciate everything you guys  have  said in trying to help me out. But this is  too many signs that the  game  and  me are never  going to get along.

[Canute]

draco454,
if you think your installation is corrupt, just manualy delete the rimworld installation. Then let steam repair it.
If you use mod's be sure it is the right mod for your version.
That you don't miss a required mod for that mod, but that should show your at the mod activation screen as red (if the mod author didn't forget/mistake it).
And the important thing with mods, try to avoid mods that throw out error's (red text) after Rimworld startup/modactivation (you need to enable developer mode at the options, then the top left icon open the log window).