The sectional damage system sounds interesting, especially with bow and stern damage affecting movement. Does the gravity well make damaged ships significantly harder to control, or can skilled players still use it to their advantage?
Viewing post in Space Wars (retro 1977 re-forged!)
Once you get the hang of flying your ship when gravity is in play, it's relatively easy to predict the slingshot so you can whip past the sun's gravity before getting sucked into it. But if you're traveling too quickly, there might not be enough time to adjust your heading and you'll get sucked right in.