I am working on resolving what I consider the last two big bugs in Star Explorers. If you are interested in helping, I have a way to help track down the root cause of one of them.
Sometimes, when you visit a planet and find the Acknexium crystals you are looking for, the game will not allow you to drop the beacon alerting the mothership. I have been able to reproduce this bug, but only if/when I do not visit the mothership before finding the crystals. This aspect is not actually a bug, since you will not receive the quest to find crystals until you visit the mothership.
However, I believe I have seen it happen even when I have visited the mothership, and other players have reported this as well.
Access Your Game Files
So, I have a way to help track this down. I requires going into your game folder. If you are playing version 2.1, it will be accessible via "Star Explorers > Properties > Local Files > Browse Local Files"
If you are using the new 2.2 version, it will be in "C:\\Program Data\\Star Explorers"
What to Do
When playing the game, and visiting planets, make a backup of your game folder (the one you named when starting a game) right before landing on a planet. Then, if you land, find crystals, and are unable to set a beacon, take that backup folder, zip it, and email it to [email protected]
That way, I will have the game in the state it was right before it experienced the bug. This will help me determine exactly where this issue comes into being.
I will be doing this myself for the next week or so, or until I find the issue. But any help is always appreciated.