With this level of customization and simplification, it would probably be easier to just pick a less rule-oriented system...
And I think most of that creates a lot more work for the GM, concerning combats, skill challenges and just plain shopping - you'll have to rebalance everything. But if it's a homebrew adventure, you already got your work cut out for you.
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I think my biggest question as I glance through these... Have you played starfinder before? If not I would be very wary of changing things as thoroughly as you have here without play experience. House rules tend to be best written from experience and not guesswork.
If you have played before, I assume you and your players know what you want more than random internet strangers do.
However, some thoughts:
Flatfooted change: The math around AC is tight in starfinder. Removing the DEX bonus entirely can gut a player's AC, and AC is already not the best defense against the high attack bonuses of NPCs. Against NPCs, suddenly this is the end all be all condition to inflict outside of death. NPCs have low AC to start with. Dropping it by their dex bonus can be absolutely huge depending on their level. This is too much of a change to the game's math.
Skills: Depending on number of players, I see several skill gaps in the party, but otherwise fine. You should look into adjusting DCs of skills - The fact that a specialist is needed to pass is the reason behind the useless soldier problem and keep that in mind.
Economy: This seems like a whole lot of work for what is essentially a cosmetic change. It may also have many knock on effects. I wouldn't suggest it, but if you want to put the work in, you might as well I guess.
Computers (specifically removing personal comms ie cell phones): Seems like a change for no real reason. Note that the personal comm comes free with any suit of armor if you feel the need to make this change.
CMD: Watch out for specialized builds. I think there are a build or two based on the vanguard that can hit CMD on EAC +0 even when the default is KAC +8. Hitting a maneuver on EAC -4 is close to a guarantee. Otherwise it's an okay house rule.
Life support: Penalizes light armor users for no good reason. A better suggestion if you really want to deal with survival mechanics - armor providing life support for hours/level instead of days/level.
Crafting: If you're banning crafting as written, you had better provide some method of PCs buying what they need without months of travel to and from a store. That's the whole point of the easy crafting rules. Character wealth is a huge driving factor in character survivabilty and power in starfinder. Being unable to spend wealth is the same as not having it at all.
Magical healing: Shoehorning in doctors being necessary because you want them to be seems like another change for no reason. If that's what you want, just ban magical healing in the first place. Stamina + 10 min rests gets my players through most encounters. Magical healing is never used in combat outside mystic cure 4+. Not the worst house rule in the world, but as a player I would fight against it vehemently even without a mystic in the party. If only because it requires someone be good at medicine, whereas without the houserule you can get away with six packs of healing serums instead of a magical healer.
Treat deadly wounds: Good change, nothing to see here.
Aid another, upgrades, and automatic changes: No strong feelings one way or another.
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I like some of your approaches (especially the economic as this bothers me A LOT, too).
But where I have to disagree are the skill points. I run some SF game and 4+Int are enough, sure you don't become a skill monkey, but hey your class simply isn't. ;)
The only thing I would change regarding skills is to let the operatives skill bonus only work for his spezialisation skills, not for ALL, as well as removing the free skill points in these skills.
Computer: Modern mobile phones are already "multi-tools", combining game console, camera, mobile phone, computer etc. So I don't see why scifi comms (aka mobile phones) should be worse.
CMD: I see your point, depends if you have a theory-munchkin or not in your group. ;)
Treat Deadly Wounds: sounds good, will try it in my group
Economy: This would definetly cut down the exploding costs of items, problem could be if players have access to items above their level, this could lead to some imbalance.
Lifesupport: I would go with Garretmanders suggestion: reducing it to 1 hour/level and even maybe make it a armor upgrade. This would make more sense.
You can then take some special armors (e.g. the EVA/D-Suit) which come already with a lifesupport system for free.
The other rules are only "minor" in my view didn't realy add something to the game.
Thanks for the in depth response! I appreciate the analyse into them a lot, and you make some good points...
First, I have played before, as I mentioned this will be my second game I'm running. A lot of the rules I came up with are based on issues I observed during my first game, the largest of them likely being the skills. As for your input, your largest issue seems to be with the Flatfooted change (which is funny, because that's not one of the ones I thought I'd have to come back to). I get what you're saying with it, I was trying to sort of swipe a bit of how it works in Pathfinder, as I really like the concept of being high-Dex meaning you need to actually be on your toes. Do you have any suggestion as for a way of implementing it without breaking anything?
if anything, I would just increase the flat penalty if your PCs/an NPC is in light armor by 1 or 2. I wouldn't personally, but hearing your goals with these house rules makes me think that's the ticket. Losing dex entirely for NPCs can be as much as -8 at level 10, which is an incredible penalty that means all of your players can full attack and expect to land both shots, possibly even if they are level 7. I'll be honest, high DEX only means so much mechanically in starfinder. Your armor is a more important facet of your AC. Even an AC focused vanguard with a shield and armor two levels above their own will still be hit on something like a 15 or less die roll from an opponent around their level.
Skills: We have a rather small group, and there are some definite Skill gaps already, but it's not something I'm too terribly fussed about. This is one of the biggest changes that came from my experience in the game, as my last group was comprised of a Mechanic, Technomancer, Mystic, and Envoy all of whom ended up taking Culture at one point or another during character creation because "I guess it makes sense..." 4 of my 5 players were genuinely unsure what Skills to take, simply because they were so overburdened with points. Meanwhile, the Solarian in the group, playing a not-so-smart-but-good-talker captain, by level 5, had ended up splitting his pitiful number of points, just to get even a handful of Skills. It's something I really do not want in my games.
That being said, the point you make about changing DCs is very smart, and something I briefly considered. The main issue is that I haven't got a way of controlling what my players put their points into, and so if they do decide to specialise in something, should I just let them be god-tier at it, just so the ones who don't specialise are capable? In theory, I love the idea of lowering DCs so that splitting points is more viable, I was disappointed initially when I read how Skills work in Starfinder, as it seems like it would be mostly the same if you simply picked Skills at first level, and they all got a +1 as you levelled up, but I see this solution as just pushing it further down the line, where now you don't need to put all your ranks in, but you'd be silly not to.
By adjusting DCs, I mean making it so that someone with max ranks, a half decent ability score, and a class skill can... maybe 60% pass a check. Adjusting the high end down from 100% is of course a trial and error adjustment that I'm still dialing in myself.
Economy: You may consider it cosmetic, but it is for sure one I'm willing to put the work into. The idea that, as adventurers, they amass enough wealth to rival entire civilisations is just all off for me. One high level gun costing enough to staff a small army just doesn't fit for me. Plus, consider the effects the economy being more grounded in reality will have past cosmetic, it makes it more relatable, where Credits mean more to the players who have them. I know a change like this obviously isn't for everyone, but my players have had a generally positive reaction to it so far.
Whatever works for you works for you. Personally, I like the idea that my handgun at level 20 does as much damage as a MBT's cannon, and that technology is worth as much as it costs to equip a small army. Part of the fantasy and all that.
Computers: The change is mostly because two of my three players don't really have computers, or much technical know-how, for that matter. It's just a little weird that you can get a basic computer for so much less than a normal one to me. I think computers are awesome thematically, and maybe this is just a point of view from someone who understands the inner workings of computers, but I'd like to see some more interesting choices with them. It's already inspired some more interesting decisions from the one player who uses them. I mean, are you the kind of person who gets an Android, an Apple for twice the price, or a weird phone no one's ever heard of, but allows you complete access to it? This goes along with changing the economy, where I want my players to have a little more spending money away from guns costing a ridiculous amount more than anything else in the game, so that they can consider a pricier option, even if it doesn't make much sense.
As an engineer, the fact that these insanely useful minicomputers are ubiquitous is a plus for me... but again, it doesn't really change all that much.
Life support: It's more-so that I don't see a reason to claim that my Shobhad's traditional Shobhad armor has a space suit built in. Also, I don't mind penalising light armor, that's almost kind of the point, heavy armor seems to have so few things going for it...
The characters I've seen in heavy armor tend to be the melee damage monsters that can destroy difficult encounters solo (they'll be screaming I need healing afterwards, but they can do it).
So, penalizing the squishies for not being as DPS heavy just seems odd to me. Unless you want to give every character free proficiency and then let them chose between mobility restricting heavy armor and light armor?
Healing: In the setting of Starfinder, it seems to me that doctors are supposed to be necessary. I mean, the rules go on and on about how you heal, limiting it greatly, adding feats and strict items to squeeze just a little more health out of it, and then give you a spell and item that hand waives all of it. They feel super out of place to me, and really just s!+* all over doctors. In my experience, I've had far more people looking forward to being a doctor than I've had people hoping to be a Cleric, and it's just sad that it might never actually come up. It also seems odd that there's so few ways to regain Stamina during a fight, so I feel this rules really does work out well. This way, doctors will have a tangible impact on a group, and actually feel useful, while magic healers still fill a slot that you can't fill many other ways, able to keep people going throughout a fight.
Have you considered buffing non-magical healing instead?
It's also a very different pace of play if your characters have to pull back and rest up in the ship's med bay instead of pushing through with some quick spells/serums of magic nanotech. So if you can adjust the pace of play it seems okay. It's just that spells affecting only stamina seems... like such a downgrade to the spell that it might as well not exist.
In combat healing is perhaps even less useful than it used to be in PF1. If you're healing out of combat, well there are only so many situations where you can't take a 10 min rest instead. If you're running into those situations often, well you just made the mystic with mystic cure mandatory. It not being mandatory is a plus side of starfinder's system.
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I'm afraid I'm not quite sure what you're getting at, sorry. Could you try explaining it in a little more detail?
So, common skill DCs are 10+1.5xlvl, 15+1.5xlvl, and 20+1.5xlvl. Something like a technomancer had a pretty good chance of passing that 20+1.5xlvl at a computer check, because they have full ranks, a great ability score, it's a class skill, and a class feature bonus to computers. They still aren't guaranteed to pass.
A soldier might have their level in ranks, class skill, and +1-3 from ability score which is significantly lower. They are almost guaranteed to fail.
This is the problem. It also requires a bit more nuance than to give the normie a bonus and lowering the specialist's skill. But that, ultimately is a complicated process that I haven't nailed down yet.
The way I see HP is that once you start taking points out of it, you're in a bad way. An average fight should end with you taking little to no HP damage, it just tuckering our heroes out, but when they start losing HP? That's when they're in danger of actual injury, long term ones. That's why regaining hit points is so hard, it's physical injuries that take time to set, maybe they need a cast, or stitches, that kind of stuff. Unless, of course, you've got a healing serum, which will set your arm right back in place. With all that, this take on HP, in that you really don't want to lose it, I feel makes healing items and spell all that more useful, where now they can provide a cushion you can't really get anywhere else, to prevent you from actually losing those vital hit points. This is just my personal take on it, of course, and it's how I'd like to run my games.
That all being said, I do appreciate the input, and if you've got a fitting way to buff healing with all that in mind, I'm open.
My personal houserule is to adopt the PF1 death and dying rules instead. It emphasizes the problem with those rules and makes it a benefit. If my players are into hit point damage they know the next couple hits could be deadly. They pull back and get out of the line of fire unless they think they can win the fight with their next round of attacks,
Starfinder in my experience, doesn't really accommodate the long term injury paradigm. If you're down on hit points, you're looking to heal or fall back, not just press on unless it's a fight that's gone to the wire. So the only time magical or mundane healing comes into play is if they already had a near death experience. The 10 min rest maintains it's importance. And healing resources are valuable, but don't involve taking a day+ off to get surgery.
Now, if you want to write your adventures accommodating such... well that can work, but it doesn't mesh with my own experiences with starfinder.
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Regarding the skil checks I don't really see the issue. The focus of the technomancer lays on tech stuff, the focus of the soldier on combat.
And yes a soldier should have it more difficult to hack a computer then a technomancer/mechanik, same as the technomancer/mechanic have it harder to hit an enemy (and also deal less damage).
So I don't see the problem, having something were you are bad at (and something other were you are good at) is part of a class based system. This also embraces the players to play together (the technomancer hacking the computer, the soldiers shots the enemies etc.).
(Also "They are almost guaranteed to fail." is a little bit hard, even at level 6 a "hacker soldier" has a bonus of around +11, which give her a chance of 35% to make the roll (without bonus from tools etc.).
For the hitpoints I have a different point of view then Pspritechologist.
The stamina system is a nice system to give the players a "warning shot". But going into combats with the premise that players should not get HP damage is wrong. Simply because then there is nothing to worry about.
Because of this I like your approach with the "once per wound" but I would rephrase it to "once after a combat where the player took damage" to make it more simple.
So how are you going to balance the class power? If you are removing skill points from classes and giving them to others, what are you doing to repay the more skill focused classes?
I don't agree with the healing. Mostly the magic and serums not actually doing HP. its a high tech/relatively high magic world. Where magic can create nanites to bring a creature down to its base components. Having that same magic fail to set a bone feels like a kick to the Mystic class.
I do like your treat wounds bit, making that useful but I think think basically replacing magic healing with an extra skill use is not the best idea.