I kinda like how the game is an open-and-honest story generator. The game exists to entertain the player. Simulation off-screen is faked (although I don't know how much) to create "interesting stuff". And it sort of meshes randomly in a way that us puny humans can piece it into a narrative.
this is where Rimworld shines, those moments it game-ifies the settlement experience in just the right way that it feels like a hollywood script. . but not so much "drama" that it ruins your fun.
DF lacks this gamified element at the moment, and while cavern invaders were supposed to replicate this raid experience, it was bungled in multiple ways and is ultimately a boolean decision "do you want lag or not? if not, turn off cavern invaders"
the fundamental problem is that the thing you most need to do any "fun stuff" is a well-developed base. People are expendable, but the power grid, the manufactory, the hospital...that shit takes time to set up.
skilled pawns are extremely useful so I might disagree here. in fact, certain professions require that you have an experienced pawn. and the fact that a certain percentage of pawns are useless for any given task.
that being said, I would agree that the game opens up in interesting ways only after your settlement is built up. Rimworld's simulated elements are (imo) too simplistic, so a majority of situations can be 'solved' via killboxes and other sure-fire strategies. . combat can be so punishing that it is best avoided. and the fact that terrible, awful events will happen to you for no particular reason other than a flat RNG makes the game feel, oh I don't know, shallow? like once you've run through all the disaster events there is not much point in experiencing them for a second time. since a lot of them are simply, "wait for your favorite pawn to die with no chance of recovery" or "completely redefine your playstyle to account for a random dice roll by an uncaring AI game master."
the most fun is in systems design and population expansion. and modding - so many amazing mods that breathe life into the somewhat boring vanilla furniture, machines and animals