Difficulty modifiers?

[Gargantou]

Hi guys, long-time Nexus fan and first-time poster here!

I have one thing I've been wondering about Nexus for a long time, exactly what effects does the Difficulty settings have in the single-player campaign?

Do they just modify RP amount, or do they also modify stuff like how much % of bonus damage the player-controlled ships get versus computer controlled ones?

If anyone knows exactly what these modifiers are, I'd be very interested in finding out!

Thanks in advance for any helpful replies!

[GeoModder]

Probably only part of the answer, but quite a number of the missions are coded in such a way that the higher the difficulty level, the less "extra's" the player receives in the config screen/ship setup.
Weapons effectiviness seems affected as well. At least, I recall it could be a hell of a problem disabling the shields of hostile ships with only three energy shells installed on the Angelwing.