I had a discussion recently about space sims and people claiming (quite confidently) that they want free control with inertia.

And having just shut down a game like that: No, except in very limited circumstances, you do not want that. KSP works because it gives you the tools to plan and execute precisely. It only works in a space simulation that makes space appropriately big.

If the range between objects is measured in multiples of your craft, you need some of the niceties of "fake" physics.