Is it just getting shittier as BTC diff goes up exponentially?
IMO, yes. If you watch the profitability of the Alts, they jump up to 300-400% plus when Bitcoin re-adjusts, and then the Alts slowly (a few days) drop back down to the 200-300% range. This happens almost every time Bitcoin re-adjusts. As more and more ASICs come online, and the difficulty jumps more, Alts will continue to drop. Alts are more 'baseball card trading' that real currency, unlike Bitcoin.