So you did Use Drill (RED) in the workshop, and didn't receive any AGGRESSOR or Gothic rayguns, etc? And you checked the right base? Just trying to narrow things down here. I just did the gold drill project and everything checked out, and I don't think red is randomly bugged in this version. Most people seem to like red so a bug probably would've been found.
Edit: Also, I'm having the general experience as teddybbeer as well on jack sparrow. Just a slow lurching along until inevitable doom.
The impacts of a bunch of new difficulties all add up.
-Heavy general economy nerfs (-40%)
-Vastly decreased grog profitability (~-70%)
-Lost income from score (~1 million every month from score, relative to what you would've gotten)
-Reduced gambling
-Inability to sell glamour due to the C badge costing 200
Basically it amounts to mostly just breaking even supporting 6 brainers despite choosing gold codex and selling literally all of it (hull and flame cannon included), with basically no ability to make your own income. Usually by end of april I have ~13 brainers, two bases or 1 and missile defense, 90 runts, and a few million of random junk that I don't want to sell, and ~3-5k score a month. Now it's 6 brainers, 70 runts, one extra base that I can barely afford plantations on, and a score of -400.
If you can break through this you probably survive, but one of the larger missile strikes OR a single hunter killer strike, and it's over, and there's honestly not much you can do about it really.
It's a little much really. I've since just downgraded to a new save with davy jones and will see how that goes. Could use a break from giant swarms of enemies anyways