I'm not sure realism has had all that much of an effect on the competitive scene. Slowing the ships down, dealing with the maneuverability, changing the weapons, etc is all game balance; and very often the complete opposite of realism. I'm no weapons expert, but as far as I know, arming times aren't a thing. If you shoot a rocket, it's going to explode when it hits something regardless how close. As soon as it's fired, it's armed (I believe some of these weapons are based on velocity, which is often achieved immediately after leaving the barrel. This is more of a safety measure so they don't explode when you drop them).
For the competitive scene, there's a lot other bigger factors that affect it.
First is that it's mostly forum based. A lot of players are from steam and couldn't be bothered to check the forums if you paid them to. Most players aren't even aware of the GoIO forums.
Second, and also tied to the first, is the lack of in game clan support. Setting up a clan is a hassle, keeping track of clans is a hassle, keeping track of clan members, organizing them, etc; is a hassle. It's all on the players to do these things and more. Although this will likely see a huge improvement in the near-ish future.
Third is the competitive structure itself. Due to the relatively small population, everyone is put into the same competition. This makes it really hard for newer clans and teams to actually compete; as there's a -massive- learning curve. Hopefully matchmaking will help ease this learning curve, as the players get better, they'll get grouped with better players and get into more intense matches. Instead of being forced to pub-stomp and think you're good; or going through the hassle of setting up a scrimmage with another clan. Then of course there's the casting. Don't get me wrong, I love the competition being streamed, but they tend to be very harsh and unforgiving to any kind of mistake. I've actually seen a clan fall apart and stop playing the game from how the casters acted towards them.
Fourth is the clans, which is actually an odd one. Quick, list all the clans you know! You probably got a fair amount of them before you finished reading this sentence. Now how many members do those clans have? And there's an issue. Some clans just have an incredible amount of players, especially the ones that are well known for competing. It's not the clans' fault really, as most players just like larger clans (or want to be on the winning team). Which is why some clans have well over 100 members, and other clans struggle to get 10. This is where the competitive scene got a little weird, changing from competing clans, to competing teams. Accommodating the large clans who can support multiple teams, and in turn removing some of the disadvantages of joining a large clan (if each clan could only have one team, players would be more likely to join a smaller clan so they could compete. Instead they can join a large clan and still compete).
But that's me going off on a tangent.
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Personally I wouldn't mind ships being a little faster and more maneuverable. But of course you have to consider what that will do to the game. Long range becomes a lot less powerful since ships are more difficult to hit. Close range engagements take longer as well because ships make sudden movements easier to dodge attacks and slip out of bad positions.
Now I do love a brawly build myself, and really enjoy the faster ships (squid), even though it feels like we're flying through mud sometimes with how easy we are to hit, even at top speeds with sudden bursts of movement (hydro, chute, moonshine).
I wouldn't say to go back to a time where ships could dance around each other, but I could get on board with a moderate boost to maneuverability and speed, especially for the ships that rely on those.
