Honestly, the ability to tweak the settings kind of make this a moot conversation, doesn't it? I suppose one could request the ability to change some of the percentage gains mid-game if they feel it needs some tweaking. I rather like the Normal settings: the easy science and the ability to revert means there is little grinding to do. Admittedly, you can find yourself running out of funds if you foolishly keep doing the 1-star and 2-star missions, as most of them don't pay as much money as it will cost to fly them (and you have a 2-contract limit which prevents a good stack of contracts per launch). Just reach high and things progress nicely. I'm sure there will soon be plenty of guides on what to upgrade first for those that have a difficult time starting up, but I feel they've done a pretty good job with balance.