I just started playing rimworld a week ago.
My first colony all died. I was researching drug policy and starting geothermal and blowback weapons, I was getting raided every couple of days and had 0 wind so I had to prioritize those. Suddenly, the plague infects 5 of my 6 people. 2 people survive with the least skills. Cassandra: Adventure difficulty. I followed all of the healing and rest guides and 1 person with the plague survived. This first time I got a few turtles and had major problems with 300+ turtles eating all of my food and unable to slaughter them as fast as they were spawning
I started a new colony also with Cassabdra: Adventure difficulty. I just reached the exact same point. Drug policy not done, this time not even geothermal or blowback done (so I would say early game). Plague. This time only 2 out of 6 die. Not bad. I survived.
NOPE: 2 days later, nuclear fallout and everyone has to stay inside for what? Months? Luckily I have only 1 turtle so I have 1000 rice and 1000 various meats built up in my much larger freezer with a open door chimney. Should be able to wait it out.
NOPE: the second day of fallout I had a multi-day solar flare knocking out all of my fridges.
Luckily the power came back before all of the meat spoiled and I got a mad muffalo for extra food.
I still don’t know how to protect my chickens in the pen because I can’t set a zone, but they seem to by chance sleep under the roof every few days and reduce their radiation. I don’t have the available power or components to switch to indoor farming with sunlamps (and hydroponics not researched yet) so I might be screwed if my food runs out.
I read online “plague is a very unlucky roll early-mid game” and I got it twice in a row lol. Plus a toxic fallout immediately after. Sometime this game just decides to come and get you.
My last colony died because Randy decided to give my doctor Plague, Flu, and Gutworms, and Food Poisoning, all over the course of a few days like 2 weeks into the colony
and he was so sick and in pain that he couldnt do doctoring tasks, so he couldnt tend himself, much less others. Colony suffered a major death spiral because he couldnt tend, so he died, then we got raided, and everyone was injured and everyone else had 0 doctoring which lead to a wave of infections and more deaths.
Probably one of the most brutal starts of a colony I’ve ever had.