My impressions after about an hour today:
The game is indeed much harder. I haven't been able to beat Easy yet (previously had been able to beat hard mode without too much trouble). So far, I'm quite enjoying the difficulty on easy mode, using a liberator. Since I've been dying a lot, nothing feels "too strong" just yet.
I think I get a suitable amount of scrap.
I enjoy how much stronger lasers have gotten! Although point-defense lasers still seem very weak and require more damage. Bolter point defense also seems much weaker than before, although they are still the cheapest option, so that may be appropriate. But I think they may deserve a small boost in damage or something else.
Plasma bombers are much stronger and fun to use! I like where these are at.
I'm a little sad that energy and projectile cannons no longer have fire rate increases, but I understand that made them both very strong before.
Overall I very much like how many weapons now start with higher damage to begin with, it sets a faster pace early in the game. It does make some weapon upgrades feel less impactful if weapons already feel strong; for example, the laser cannons.
I noticed that black holes cause constant hull damage to missiles and rockets, which kills rockets before they hit the enemy sometimes. This is a cool and realistic effect, and I like it, but it does make missile/rocket builds a bit difficult to use in some circumstances.
I notice rockets now have a (minor!) shield damage upgrade, and I don't see why I would ever choose to buy it. It's not causing any harm, but you might consider removing it just because it seems out of place.
The new mission structure from stations is terrific! I really enjoy the variety of missions and how it all works.
Bug: Warped to a sector with a single fighter in it. Killed the fighter, but a blue arrow to indicate a friendly ship off-screen was there, although there were no friendly ships anywhere.
There also seems to be a delay between warping into a system and attacking enemies; this may be intended, but I thought I would mention it.
The red bars along the sides of the screen seems buggy as well. I'm not sure if they are intended, and when they should show up, but when they appear is not consistent.
I'll post more impressions or bugs if I see them.
