This overhaul is the beginning steps of revamping the tutorials, and, hopefully, being much more beginner friendly. If you like space sims, this is one of the best times to give X4 a shot!
I would argue, a lot of the systems don’t take a TON to learn, but, they take a TON of time to get to some of them. It’s definitely not a “sit and play for 20 minutes” game.
Along with the tutorial upgrades comes some much needed graphical overhauls as well. Great game, great community, and lastly a small, fantastic dev team that’s been supporting the game for years.
The DLC’s add a ton to the game. New storylines, new sectors (more space), new ships and buildings, new mechanics (in some), etc.
Do I think you need them all at the start? Probably not? I don’t know how much things cost at this point since I’ve gotten all the DLC’s when they came out since I got the game so it’s hard for me to say whether it’s “worth it” price wise. But just from a content and fun standpoint? They add a LOT to the game and are worth having for sure.
IMHO, the Split ships are the ones I prefer flying generally, so I would recommend that DLC if nothing else. But every faction has one or two ships that are best in class, it’s balanced nicely that way. I just know that if I had to start the game from scratch without Split ships, I would be sad. :-D