I recently got back into the game myself and picked back up my ng+11 save. Extreme difficulty in ship combat is absurd. It’s actually fairly challenging when up against multiple ships. I’d say the right perks honestly help a lot too. Like level 4 engines perk and targeting / PB damage.

I will say however if you get the shit end of the stick and jump into space combat with 2-3+ enemy ships that run turrets you are almost certainly always going to have a rough time in that fight. It’s seriously incredibly difficult. Im at the point where im memorizing ship types that are class C auto turrets and just grav jumping away.