I've read quite a bit about the Droid Buttons plugin, but I haven't yet tried it on the VR because my understanding is that I can't use it.

What I'm looking to do is add buttons to the HUD, just like I've seen done with phones and tablets. However, I *think* the Gear VR can't select anything in the HUD and is only able to select things outside the ship - e.g. targeting. I'd like to assign a button to my gamepad that would allow me to use a menu-UI targeting reticle/dot and select assignable button regions, such as what you get with Droid Buttons, then use that same button on my gamepad to return to normal VR tracking/selecting mode.

I'm still fairly new and may not have discovered settings that allow for this already. However, if they don't exist, can we get something like this added? Typing commands is somewhat of a chore when you have to peck at a virtual keyboard like a chicken and something like this could make things easier.

Alternatively, are there any tips for noobs who use VR as their only method of playing which can help make using the advanced features of the game easier?

DroidButtons only supports interaction through the touch interface of the device. I don't know anything about the virtual mouse used with gamepads, but it might be possible to make something similar to DroidButtons for gamepad/VR users.