There was a game for the PC around 2000. It reminded me a lot of Elite in that the game had handling like Elite. Looking online, it looks like X: Beyond The Frontier but I could be wrong, because I only played the demo version. But
this screenshot brings back some memories.
Anyhow, it was similar to Elite (mine stuff, shoot ships) but had some bells and whistles. When you came in to land manually at a space station, the program would take over once you passed a certain point and land your ship perfectly (even if you screamed in at full throttle).
Back to flight dynamics. It was just like Elite; you could pull up and down, and rotate. But there was an added bonus. The 'motion lock' button or key. When unpressed, the ship would fly in the direction it was pointed in, as long as you had thrust. But if you held down the button, the thrusters instantly cut out (but would cut back on again at their original level once the button was released) because your forward motion would continue along its original vector and speed. Meaning you could now turn the ship to pass-and-strafe an asteroid or enemy ship.
That was it. Simple, but it was incredibly intuitive and it was immense fun.
Don't push the button = direction of flight is dictated by direction the ship is headed in.
Push the button = ship is locked on last known trajectory, orientation of ship just moved the ship around like you're handbrake-spinning on an icy road. Meaning you could speed by a target but then pivot and get off some great shots before releasing the button and shooting off in the direction you were now headed.