Agreeing with porkammf as i was about to comment the exact same thing, there is too much needless thngs flying on the screen distracting for a shooter game.
I had played this when it first came out. Replayed due to the recent badge of the day, when i saw the comments of hidden content, and trying to find it. Rating updated to 5/5, seriously one of the best puzzle games on kong.
You don't need to grind to get to the end if you pass on upgrading your crew to lvl 3, but it means you need to sit on your gold. My advice would be to remove the blueprints bullshit and make it so that if you have the gold you can build your ship at any point.
It gives you a minor speed boost and prepares you for the day ahead.