I expect the developers chose this to make sure the casual user is going to enjoy the game first than aiming for accurate physics.

Most people would likely struggle with piloting the spaceship if they'd have to consider proper inertia and momentum.

It would be nice to have the option for it, maybe a mod idea?

A similar gripe: if I leave a planet, post-cutscene, the game points me back at that planet, thrusters on.

Why the hell would I be facing towards the thing I just left?

I can get around a lot of other immersion issues by making sure I walk into my ship and sit myself in the cockpit before trips. But why. the. hell. am I facing the planet I just left.

Do wish the flight controls felt a bit more like Elite or even Space Engineers. But it's amazing they have vehicles and space flight at all on this engine.

The game simulates counter thrust (inertial dampening) so you don't just float away. It would be nice to have this turned off optionally.

The fuel is the weirdest shit. The tutorial made it seem like a way bigger deal than it is. You don't even have to buy the stuff. It automatically refills after each jump and costs nothing. It's just a really piss poor artificial way of limiting your single jump range. Could have just as easily been an arbitrary number on the drive instead.

Starfield has some pretty soft scifi under a hard veneer. It's more a Star Trek/Wars than a The Expanse. I think there's deceleration to add to a more arcade-y feel. If it bothers you it can be explained by your ship firing retrothrusters when the throttle isn't engaged.

Though I would like an Elite Dangerous-style button to turn off Flight Assist

I immediately thought "piloting" felt like paddling a bathtub while trying to use an abacus with the other hand. The physics and just "feel" of piloting are awful to me, and I'm basing that on ancient space sims like Freelancer. Did they play any other space game throughout history before making this?

I've made a few games with accurate phsycis for spaceships. It always ends up with a lot of players complaining about not being able to control them. The way I usually handle this is having a match speed button or other form of dampening, but it's still not enough for some players.

Starfield made spaceships behave like aircraft. That's the other method you see often. It makes more sense to us humans who have only experienced life on earth. It's why Star Wars does it, even though a person doesn't even have to control it.

I don't think either option is "wrong." I do personally prefer the former, but that's from someone with hundreds of hours in KSP and many other space sims. For a mass market game, the airplane model is probably the correct choice, at least as a default. I would love a toggle to change modes though.

I don’t feel the same kind of “grip” that a car would have in game but I see what you mean. I personally don’t hate the current physics. The more arcade feeling works well in combat like others have mentioned here. One could say that a real spaceship might behave the same way to avoid reaching speeds that would be hard to control. Like a governor on a motor.

But if a mod came out with more realistic physics I would be totally up for trying it.

It's the same in most space-based games, and whilst disappointing for fans of physics, it would be far too difficult to properly simulate, as funky things happen in physics engines when ludicrous speed is achieved.

The ships essentially have fully enabled flight assist. So when you let go of the throttle, there are forward thrusters that immediately start to cancel your velocity. In real life, this is pretty pointless since speed is relative, but you could at least set your reference frame to your target planet.

I think the behavior could actually make sense with real physics, as the vehicle might be designed to mimic what the driver expects rather than real physics. For example, my car often shuts off the engine when I am not accelerating because it is a hybrid. So, if I don't press the gas pedal, it wouldn't really make sense for it to move. However, it is designed to artificially engage the engine when none of the pedals are pressed to more closely mimic the behavior of non-hybrid cars.

If most pilots are used to the behavior if a vehicle in atmosphere, a space ship might be designed to mimic that behavior (through weak reverse thrusters or something else) to make it easier for pilots to get used to.

I don't think any game models this fully, even the more hardcore space sims. I think this is beyond the scope of a general RPG like Starfield unfortunately.