I replied a few days ago but it was on a phone and I don't believe it posted.
I've figured out two things....
First, as Vision said, if the thrust from your power is stronger facing the front, the ship will turn, and the back will become the front. I had nearly equal thrust on both the front and rear, eight large thrusters, but I had two smaller thrusters on the front as well. I did this because I was often overshooting my intended target, so I wanted more braking. I removed two small thrusters from the front (mirrored), put them on the rear and the ship began flying correctly. If this is the case, you'll usually notice immediately as the ship begins to fly. However, sometimes it only occurs once you get into your battle.
Second, if you have more firepower at the rear of your ship, the wrong direction will occur as well, even if you have your thrust coordinated properly. I had ten lasers for defense in the rear of the ship, then added four missile launchers facing rear. When I added the missiles, the ship again turned and went into battle rear first. I removed the missile launchers from the rear and placed them on the sides, and the ship orientated itself correctly again.
I tried this over several saves, so I'm fairly confident of the results.
As for the lag, which is fairly extreme on Vanguard levels, I found the slower you play (1/4 as opposed to 4x), the easier it is to overcome. I also reduced the default capped FPS from 100 to 60, which made a bit a difference.
Not a knock on the game. It's one of my favorites this year. And I can't wait to support it monetarily.
