I'll admit, the change to the difficulty is noticeable from 0.8.0 to 0.9.1, not complaining, but I do like the challenge. It's just very brutal if you're new to the game. The left side is still monstrously dangerous in comparison to the right side, though I have noticed the right side is harder. My strategy mostly involves not using the mining machines because maxed out miner laser is a helpful tool in gathering resources quickly it's just faster than the mining drill. Gausses are... weird. They're seemingly better off used on flat surfaces against enemies that it can track. There's no denying their useage, but I haven't used MK 2 yet to confirm if they're useful when building up to the sides. My one annoyance is how the platform above the cave is set up and the fact that there isn't a floating bridge or something to easily get to the other side of it on the left side. It's what makes the left side of the map so dangerous, not only are they closer but they're far harder to deal with so the crystal deposit at the base is basically a trap. I've been having tons of fun trying to figure out how to gather enough resources to max everything out so I can start going to the tops. I only use one elevator though because it's easier to deal with than having multiple to be honest