HF20 did NOT make the survival of newbies more difficult. In fact it would help more newbies to enter the system and in many ways support them. Here are the reasons for my opinion:
1. The HF20 has subsidized the account creation system. This means that more new user accounts can be created without the worry of the previous hard cap on account creation (amount of Steem in circulation divided by the account creation fee). This step would help the witnesses to allow the creation of as many new accounts as needed (within the safety limits). Thus more newbies would be able to enter the Steem ecosystem.
2. HF20 is geared towards scalability. Removal of the hard cap on account creation and the implementation of the resource credit system is part of the plan to make the Steem blockchain more scalable. More scalable a blockchain is, more users it can handle.
Thus the whole system is gearing towards making sure that new users can come in the Steem ecosystem. It stands to reason that welcoming new users is not the only aspect of the process. The blockchain is also gearing towards making sure that new users feel that they can stay and survive here.
3. The newly implemented resource credit system would help reduce the spammy content and also help reduce the abuse of free account creation system or the freemium nature of the user registration.
The RC system is based on the idea that a user should be allowed to interact with the blockchain depending on their stake in the system. Please remember that this is not meant to discourage people from posting but rather making sure that they can use the blockchain without overpopulating it too quickly and without taking responsibility for their own content.
4. This all would create a spirit of competition within the users of the blockchain and would allow them to compete in a fair manner for a piece of the pie. A fair and a competitive system is basically a healthy system.
In someways we also need to remember that everybody who is given a free account should know that it is a gift to them from the community. Freemium shouldn't mean 'cheap'. To distribute free goodies without making sure that they are recognized as opportunities would devalue the blockchain.
NOTE: It is also important to keep in mind that soon the environment here is going to get more competitive and that means that we might need to do a little more work to stay on top of things. This is would not make the survival of newbies difficult but rather it would make it flourish. Survival can only become difficult when lesser opportunities are available but this clearly not the case here.
I feel that HF20 is about creating more opportunities - both for newbies and for the bigger projects.