Sorry, I have been away for the holidays and haven't been able to test until now. I forgot to mention one thing. I am running at 1440p with a gsync monitor, however, it seems like it doesn't ever go above 60/62 fps. I saw the vsync option in the settings file and switched it (to off and 144hz). After seeing possibly worse performance (I didn't test it long), I reverted back to default. Also, just a thought, but I'm launching it through steam as a non-steam game. Don't think that should matter, but I figured I'd mention it. I'm using Steam's FPS monitor.
Okay, so I've tried the dev mode simulation battle. I don't think they are quite as large as some of the ones i've been in, but somewhat close. The battle frequently dipped down to 32 fps, and once or twice into the 20s. So it is better, but I'm really getting the feeling it is just less going on in the battles, and I haven't found the root cause yet. Some of that may be due to mods adding some crazier weapons and fighters and effects.
I did read how Starsector or Java might try and use the onboard video, but I don't know how to determine or force this. Any advice on this front would be helpful.
P.S. Since Alex himself responded to my post, I just wanted to gush about your Dev Blogs. They are without a doubt the best I have read. I really love how you include your thought process of how you are getting to the end goals. Just wanted to let you know you had a big fan when it comes to them.