Only vaguely related but I don't want to throw it into it's own topic, but strikecraft and missile thruster trails are weird. (also, they look the same in cinematic view and it makes me sad)
The trails are way too long, and maybe more importantly and relevant to the topic of directional thrust, I feel like they'd look better if they weren't full length all the time. My initial thought was that aside from being shorter all around, they should be shorter still and "flare up" to highlight acceleration/course corrections.
No idea what's doable (or what's moddable, if I end up looking at this or the inevitable UI effects mods after release), but right now it's a lot of samey looking streaks that could use some more love.