First of all, you're just great, I once also tried to make a game with similar gameplay, but in 3 dimensions, you got a great game, you really should not abandon it.
I can suggest a couple of ideas.:
1. Fragmentation shells for the main turret, you can make sure that their fuse can be adjusted using the mouse wheel, and after the timer expires, they fly apart in a multitude of fast-flying fragments.
2. The rail gun is like a directional gun, shoots only at the ship's course, is many times less susceptible to gravity and pierces enemy ships through
3. Multiplayer, God, that would be great, especially in a late game where the screen turns into a chaotic frenzy and you just don't have time to keep track of everything.