That sounds like an interesting course, definitely reflecting what is hot in the subject at the moment. When I was an undergrad in the UK (late 90s), solving past exam papers for a course was how most students revised: there was never enough time to study all the course material and the exam papers didn't change much from year to year. So yes, a course taught for the first time, with no past papers to refer too, was everyone's nightmare. I wouldn't pay too much attention to complaints. In my day everyone complained about courses being too difficult all the time, while they didn't make an effort to work harder or attend more lectures or ask for help.