but Lance, my suggestion also included making the Gold requirements harder (along with some rewards: unlockable concept skins perhaps), so there would be greater value for the hardcore players who can get all golds as well

and you guys realize that anyone can just download saved files to get access to all levels and ships as of now anyways...does that impact the enjoyment any of you have from the game? I would assume not. Although by your logic, allowing dling of a saved file is almost akin to have a cheat code that allows noobs to enjoy the full content of the game.