regarding the new starting options, and the talks about early-game difficulty, how about including Reinforced Bulkheads in the default loadouts of the starting ships, or at least of the Kite/Shepherd wingmen? that could make 'losing' one of your ships in battle a lot less frustrating (assuming you still win the battle, at least).
even if an allied ship gets a d-mod each time it's recovered, and the cost of the supplies and weapons needed to get it back into fighting shape might be about as much as buying an entirely new ship, i think it could be quite helpful for new players who are still learning on how and where to get new stuff. and it might also simply feel less painful to suffer a loss in combat, that way.