First of all, I love the idea of this game.
A gritty, darker version of fallout, with malleable roleplaying elements and infinite possibilities that is narratively driven... the idea is quite unique.

And yet, while it's amazing, I have no idea how to begin playing Apocalypse World, or "living" within the rules of the established systems... because I don't understand many of them!
Here are my issues so far, maybe you guys can help me with a few of them:

-How do I find a group and begin playing the game? (Skype and Roll20?)

-Are the character creation templates set in stone? (E.g., no customizing Drivers to ACTUALLY have another car that's a tank?)

-Do NPC's ever have PC characteristics? (e.g., perks, can take harm levels up to 12, classes of their own, etc.)

-Is the Maelstrom the equivalent of the WH40K Warp? (All-encompassing, corrupting, but utterly inscrutable?)

-What the fk can the Maelstrom do? (Anything/Everything?) Can it manifest physical objects, or just incorporeal visions? Or is that up to the MC?

-Does everybody always have to be an asshole to each other, in true Fallout style? (Hello Courier, welcome to Vegas, now fuck off and die in a hole)

-If the setting is only 50 years after the Apocalypse, where the Fuck did all of the tech go? Did the Apocalypse contain global EMP's resulting from STAR WARS satellites set up to (unsuccessfully) prevent global thermonuclear war? Is there an unnamed organization like the Enclave or the BoS that nobody talks about or fucks with? Or did a magical Tech bunny eat it all in his quest for world dominance?