N00b needs help

[bonjouramigo]

Hey, this is my first time using 1.) this forum and 2.) any forum at all, so please pardon me if this is in the wrong spot. It probably is, but my senses are being overwhelmed by the semi-oblique UI already (no offense, this place seems cool, but the gray colors really are... gray). I have a problem in my current game: no matter how long I wait after asking for traders via comms console (I think a base game function), no traders from the comms console come. Trade ships apparently do still appear and I assume normal traders would as well, since I can still spawn them in via dev tools. I also don't think any errors were displayed when the traders failed to materialize. I am running a whole bunch of mods, which I could share (after I open the game, closed it in hopes it would fix itself by tomorrow... I'm not very good at tech, see). I'm not really looking for a "bug fix" or anything, although that would be helpful — I'd just like to know if anyone here has gone through something similar? This bug seems quite rare in that I can't find many discussions online about it, which makes me worried I managed to ruin my game in a particularly unique and therefore hardly fixable way. Thanks for replying!

[Canute]

Hi,
at first a suggestion for you.
Try to read what you have wrote (thats why mosttimes there is a preview button) and maybe you notice that your compact block is a bit hard to read.

The difference between trade ships and trade caravan are, that pawns will enter your map.
Normaly there isn't any reason why they shouldn't appear on your map.
When you got bad temperature at your map, they still should appear at the map and leave once they notice it is too hot or cold.

But,
- you have maybe a corrupt game installation, when you enable developer mode at the option, some icons on top appear, and with the left one you can open the log window. When you see red text (errors) it is something wrong.
Then you should delete the Data folder at the installation folder, or the whole installation (don't use uninstall) and reinstall/repair it.

- when you use mods, there could be a mod conflict that prevent that they can spawn.
But since it is a bad idea to remove mods from an ongoing game there isn't much you can do.

Be sure when you activate mods, these mods don't give you an error at the logwindow. Better don't use such mods mosttimes they don't work correct anyway.
Or double check if you don't miss a required mod, and that these required mod is before the mod.

[Bigdestyn]

remove the mods jamal,
why do people complain about issues when they run 100+ mods on rimworld....

[Canute]

Because noone explain them, that mods can cause problems.

[bonjouramigo]

Thank you all!

[Bozobub]

Some thoughts, in no particular order:

• Ignore Bigdestyn, he's a notorious jackass.  Nearly everyone else here will be glad to help, if they can, as long as you're NOT a jackass .  Don't let forum trolls bother you.
  
• As Canute mentions, formatting your posts a bit better is very helpful.  You'll find more people tend to respond, and with better responses to boot.
  
• Remember that traders don't show up immediately; it takes a bit of time.
  
• As mentioned above, I'd verify your game files in Steam (I'm assuming that's how you bought the game; please tell me if you used another method).  Simply right-click the game in your Steam Library and select "Properties".  Click "Local Files" on the left; you'll see the option to verify your install on the right pane.
  
• Check that error log in Devmode.  Red text *is not* necessarily game-breaking but that info is important.
  
• This is a classic example of why adding lots of mods at once, especially to a game that has unfamiliar mechanics, can be..."difficult", let's say.  Frankly, unless you're attempting to reproduce a "mod pack" that has already been vetted by some party to play nice amongst its components, this is nearly always a bad idea; you WILL have issues, whether now or later.
  
  Generally, it's best to add no more than 3-5 mods per given colony run.

My first direct questions are, how long did you wait after requesting the trader, and how many mods do you currently have active?

[Bigdestyn]

the # of mods is irrelevant,
you can have 2 mods and they conflict with each other.
stop acting like that statistic matters.

[bonjouramigo]

Dear Bozobub,
I managed to fix the issue. Apparently hostile visitors were present (even though they weren't visually) and that prevented caravans from spawning. I'm fairly certain the reason the game thought hostile visitors were present was because (and this is a long chain of events):

1.) I went into dev mode to test the rearmability of VE-Sec beartraps (I think beartraps are from VE-Sec),

2.) I spawned a pawn with a scary name ("Raider", I believe) but who was actually part of a pacified neutral faction that is generally considered "rough" (I believe they were "civil" vikings),

3.) I passed him on to world via dev tools when I realized he was friendly,

4.) the game never considered him gone from the map and therefore "civil" factions, who are just about unanimously hostile to "rough" factions, treated my map as if it were occupied by hostile guests.

I solved it by devving the viking faction into hating me (for rp purposes, just imagine my dedicated social opening the comms and screaming insults into the mic. It can't be that hard to make vikings mad). My modlist is actually fairly well-tested, since I've played by current colony (and modpack) for I believe 3-4 in-game years. My super n00biness mostly refers to my unfamiliarity with the *forums*. Regardless, thanks for the advice! Sorry it took so long to get back to you — forums are pretty weird in terms of remembering when and how you had a conversation.

Also, I don't mind Bigdestyn (hey there!) much, lol. There are far worse places on the internet to be, and in comparison this place is positively... positive. ba dum tsk.

[Bozobub]

Thanks for coming back and giving us the breakdown of the actual problem, and how you solved it .