Ships no longer get stuck floating in place doing nothing. This had several separate causes, and all of them are fixed: patrolling ships freezing once they reached their destination, ships parking just outside a trade lane and never entering it, and ships giving up permanently when they couldn't work out a route.
Ships that can't find a route to where they're going now fly there directly instead of stopping forever.
Ships now turn while they fly instead of coming to a complete stop to rotate at every point along their route. Traffic moves far more naturally.
Large, slow ships no longer sit pivoting on the spot for several seconds before setting off.
Trade Lanes
More than one ship can now use the same trade lane at the same time. Previously, a second ship entering a lane would leave the first one stranded inside it, frozen and unable to move again.
Ships coming out of a lane now plan a fresh route from where they exited, instead of trying to fly all the way back toward where they were before they entered.
Trade and Cargo
Transport ships now actually finish their trade runs. They used to load cargo at a station and then sit there permanently without ever delivering it.
Transports now work their way along their trade route in order, instead of flying back empty-handed after every delivery. There is noticeably more traffic moving between stations.
Ship Handling
Turning is more responsive. Ships now complete a turn cleanly instead of slowing down more and more as they line up, which made heavier ships feel sluggish to point where you wanted.
Repeated Tasks
Task targets are now randomised, so repeated tasks no longer ask for the same amount every time.
"Find item" tasks now pick from a range of goods and tell you exactly which one they want.
Added a new task type that asks you to complete a Find Cargo mission.
Fixed task progress being credited to the wrong task, and fixed tasks that could stop tracking progress altogether.
Saving and Loading
NPC ships now remember what they were doing when you saved. Load a game back up and they carry on with the same job, instead of forgetting everything and starting over.