I mean, it isn't like the game is unforgiving to new players per se, I remember my first vanilla character. I did pretty well for my first run, got to level 15, and all that stuff. I think the problem with new players is more getting a feel for the core mechanics of the game, which sometimes aren't elaborated on well, if at all.
I think the help pop-ups are a super good way to educate players on current happenings in the fleet. Low supplies, hyperspace, buying a new ship, etc. It's quick and helpful and is a guiding hand to the main mechanics and functions of the game and the player's choices.
A few of the problems that I encountered as a fresh vanilla player that I now know not to do took me a while to get over.
1. I was unaware of how supply consumption based on ships and burn level based on ships worked. This led to me snowballing my fleet with combat ships I didn't need, and dragging onslaughts to the outer rim of the sector, and wondering why I was always out of supplies/fuel. I was also spending *most* of the credits I earned exploring or doing bounties just resupplying and repairing my fleet.
I didn't know that you could store ships, how supply consumption was affected/calculated, or that burn level was impacted by the ships you had in your fleet. The game didn't do the best job of explaining that, and as a new player, it helps to have a few pointers for common sense. "Don't fly with ships you don't need!" and "Don't deploy more ships in combat than you need to!" or "keep in mind supply and fuel economy when traveling!" and "you can store ships you don't want to carry around!"
2. I had zero clue about the random happenings in the sector that make it feel more 'alive'. Things like smugglers or traders or pirates waiting for you at the end of hyperspace streams, scavengers turning on you randomly, paying tithes to luddic fleets, etc. I had to learn about ALL of these things the hard way. As a new player, I saw these things as flavor or simply decoration to make the sector feel more fleshed out. It wasn't until about 100 hours in that I started looking at every trade fleet as a possibility, keeping a special eye on fleets in hyperspace, or just being wary about what the sector threw at you.
I think that hinting at, or at least acknowledging the existence of the chaotic nature of the sector in a more direct and concrete way would make players feel less helpless when they get jumped by a bounty fleet in a system they were innocently exploring.
Last notes!
The Galatia Academy storyline should be a bit more front-and-center, I think. It would give new players a concrete goal to work towards.
New players (myself included) had very little clue on how to build ships effectively- flux dissipation, weapon types, etc.
The main ways of making credits in the sector (trade, bounties, exploration) should be elaborated on a bit more.
Maybe give the player a Delta-Level AI companion that acts like a friendly face and a helpful mentor? With the option to toggle it, of course.
TLDR: Shortening the learning curve for new players may provide a better experience for them, and make the game seem less unforgiving. Of course, balancing a game and making it less difficult is arguably making it worse, so take my opinion with a grain of salt. Thanks for Reading!