I have written on a few bugs and issues I have had here, and feel bad. When playing tonight though, I had a "cool" moment when some stuff started to click, and I feel I should share.
Transiting between planets, I took a few hits and had some damage to some ship components. This included the ship's thrusters, which I noted visually (the damaged section was visible in the cockpit, with the "gash" on the tile) and I repaired.
Later in my playthrough, I was in manual ship control and noticed I could no longer thrust right.
My first instinct was that this was a bug or control issue (and went to make a note). Before I did, I went into ship diagnostic and notices that the right thruster was reading in the red, an error I hadn't encountered before and despite my repair. I then realised that the big fat "ears" on the head of the ship were the external portions of said thrusters. I went out, repaired the damage, and resumed my journey with ship control.
At no point was I trained in their being a thruster issue, or was I explicitly told that thrusters were a component. However, all the information and skills required to deal with a new problem were passed to me in-game, in such a way that there was a heavy-handed tutorial. I knew the thrusters existed (because I walk past the internal portions of them as I walk in the cockpit, and that sometimes triggered their info windows), and I knew I had diagnostic tools (form earlier repair jobs and ship exploration) so I can assess the problem before leaving the ship.
I felt I learnt lessons in a way that "felt" rather natural, and served me when a new problem emerged.
I can say this or that about interfaces, controls, issues, and such, and I feel like a nag. However, that moment just had felt very strong, and I needed to share.