1. I'm unable to start the game. It patches but the game never starts.
The patching procedure seems to stall at 99%.

The game is likely failing to initialize. The first thing to check is your video card and its drivers. Make sure it is capable of displaying video at 1024x768 with 32 bit color. To check this, you can open the Control Panel and choose Display. Click on the tab called Settings and be sure that your display's Screen resolution is set to at least 1024x768 and that Color quality is set to 32 bit (also called True color or Highest).

If you video card can display this mode then the problem may be in your video drivers. Check the manufacturer of your card (or card's chipset) and go to that manufacturer's site for the latest drivers. Be sure to uninstall old drivers (and preferrably also run DriverCleaner) before installing the new ones. Only install drivers for your card. Common places to get updated drivers:

• nVidia (For nVidia based cards.)
• ATI (For ATI based cards.)
• DriverHeaven.net (Driver tools, news and unofficial unsupported drivers.)

2. The game never connects to the server. I get the error "Couldn't connect to the Starport server (error 10060).

If you've connected successfully in the past, the Starport server may be briefly down. In this case, just wait a few minutes and try starting the game again.

If the server is up this could be a network error. If you aren't viewing this FAQ from the web, make sure that your network is functional by opening a browser to any site you wish. If this works as it should, you may need to open ports. Starport uses these TCP ports: 7000, 7797, 7807, 7817, 7827 and these UDP ports: 7798, 7799, 7808, 7809, 7818, 7819, 7828, 7829. Follow this link for details on how to open your firewall settings: Open Firewall Settings

3. I just installed the game but when I try to start it I get the notice "The geclient.exe file is linked to missing export DDRAW.DLL:DirectDrawCreateEx".

You should update or reinstall DirectX. You can find the latest version of DirectX here: Microsoft DirectX Downloads.

4. When I look at the galaxy map, the connecting lines appear to be incorrectly drawn.

Go to the Starport directory on your computer (usually in C:\Program Files\StarportGE) and locate a file named for the server you play on and your character's name (such as MilkywayJohn.dat for the character John on server Milkyway). Delete the file and run the game again. The game will rebuild the file and should correct the problem.

5. I get severe screen flickering when playing the game, the screen looks wrong or has parts missing.

Something is wrong with your video drivers or video set-up (possibly your monitor). Follow the steps listed in the first question on this FAQ to re-install your video card drivers. If this doesn't fix the problem you may need to adjust your display settings in the control panel or on the devices themselves. Contact the manufacturer of your video card and monitor for help. Usually this problem is a caused by a failure between your monitor and video card to agree on a refresh rate (like 60 hertz). You might consider trying different refresh rates in the control panel (Display > Settings > Advanced > Monitor).

6. When I try to place structures on a planet I get the notice that placement is blocked even though there's nothing in the way.

Something is slightly faulty with your internet connection set-up. Sometimes a router is to blame for this, or maybe you access the internet through a local hub that is over-stressed. In any case, this problem means that your connection to the game server is half-lost. Exit the game and re log on, or perhaps disconnect your computer from the internet entirely and re-connect it. That will fix this problem when it happens.

7. I would like to mod the game and/or run my own server. Can I do this?

No. The server software is not available and modding is not currently supported.

8. Patching Starport isn't working.
I have a general problem playing Starport.

In this case you may need to reinstall Starport. Use this procedure to do so:

1. Uninstall the game by opening Control Panel and starting Add/Remove Programs. Select Starport on the list and uninstall it.
2. When the uninstall completes, make sure that the entire Starport directory (usually in C:\Program Files\StarportGE) has been deleted. If you are unsure how to check for this, you can alternately use Start > Search > For Files or Folders... and search for StarportGE. If a directory appears, delete it and all of its contents.
3. If you still have the Starport installation file on your computer, find that file. Otherwise, go to the official website and download the game again.
4. Reinstall the game and play!

9. I'm running Vista and when the game tries to patch itself it fails. I have to re-install the whole game to run again. What can I do?

Run as administrator mode

10. I get messages "latency too high" and "packet loss too high" then I lose my connection. What do I need to do to fix this problem?

You need to close down other applications that might be using up your bandwidth such as bit torrent or other file sharing applications, or other internet games. You need to check your computer for spyware or malware that may be using up your bandwidth. You may need to check with your ISP (internet service provider such as AOL, time warner, At&t, comcast, earthlink, whatever you have) to find out why your connection is having problems. You may need to get a better connection such as upgrading from a modem to broadband. You may need to replace some faulty network hardware such as a router or modem that does not support UDP well enough.

All of these are things to try. Good luck.

11. My issue or question isn't covered here. Can I contact someone at Playtechtonics for further assistance?

Absolutely! Please send email to Starport support team with your comment or question. If your email is a technical support question, please include your character name, which server you are playing on, and some details about the computer you are using to play.

You may also want to check out the official forums support section as many questions are answered there as well.