I have the original Darkstar game and downloaded the 1.3 patch from the Darkstar One website but now I can't get the game to run -- it says "Please insert DVD of Darkstar." I have searched on the web and all of the chat seems to be related to cracked or downloaded versions of the game, but I have the original CD...does anyone know how I can fix this?

Well I seemed to get the game to run by copying the original Darkstar.exe file over the patched version, not sure if this has reverted me to the original version or not....
My main reason for patching is because of the ever-annoying flak mission which I cannot get past because the controls get extremely jerky as the mission goes on to the point that accurate aiming is virtually impossible....sooo frustrating, everyone online complains about the second flak mission and I can't even get past the first one! I heard the patch makes the drone strength match your ship level and also reduces the number of squads attacking at a time, but no luck for me. I even resorted to downloading trainers that would bolster the flak hull or better yet skip the mission altogether, to no avail. Here I was looking forward to an entertaining gaming night and I have simply turned the stupid thing off...

What oS are you using? If it is Vista (especially if it is 64 bit) you may need to update the Tages Copy protection frm the Tages site.
Or get the DS1 from GOG.com and tell tages to kiss off ;)
hip63 :P

Sorry to revive this, but I've got this problem too. Installed v 1.1.1368 and applied the v 1.3 update. I did not even try the original version, but I went to start for the first time and get "Please insert DVD of Darkstar." Ok/Cancel
I have the retail disc copy of the game, and it came on a single DVD. My drviers are current and my sys specs far exceed what's required.
WinXP Pro, SP3
ASUS P5Q MB
Intel E8400 CPU
4 gigs G Skill
500GB Seagate HDD (game installed on D, second partition)
Nvidia 9800 GT
2 DVD burners (one IDE by NEC, one SATA by Sony)
I tried in both optical drives with same error msg. Downloaded another patch file DS_patch.cpr in the install directory too (I think this was for an Nvidia compatibility issue), but it didn't help.
Any ideas are desperately appreciated!!

Please forgive me. I just uninstalled the game, installed off the disc, and checked the version from the game and it already was v1.3 (I think). The readme file said v1.1, so I went ahead and updated without even checking the game. Anywho, I *think* i'm in v1.3 because the lower left of the main menu says "1.3[1416]"
Can anyone confirm that this is correct?
Thanks and again sorry for the head fake.

Yes, you already have the 1.3 version. Later CD/DVD releases of the game came pre-patched and if you bought it from any of the digital download services it is also already up to date. The only reason you would need the patch is if you had one of the original release date CD/DVD versions of the game that actually had version 1.1 on the disk, which you obviously do not have.

Hey for other people picking this up in bargain bins and coming by this forum I thought that I would add that I have 'White Label' down under release and the game becomes a ton more playable if your using a game pad.
I've got the Logitech Precision game pad and went to Logitech's site to download the software that allows you to configure your game pad so that you can use keyboard commands at the same time that you have 'game pad' selected in DarkStar One's options.
The game pad controls make it so that the ship isn't slip slopping all over the place like it is with the mouse and now I can even take down enemy ships with just lasers alone as where before, with mouse controls, I had to rely on missiles.

Actually a decent joystick would be the best buy, especially if you plan on buying or already do own other space-sims or any other kind of flight simulation game.
The ONLY space-sim that I've come across that had anything like decent mouse control was Freelancer, and while other games do offer keyboard/mouse control options you usually will not get the best play w/o a joystick.
ATM I'm playing several w/o a joystick(need a USB joystick) and I miss it greatly. Tried a gamepad and in most of the games it was worse than mouse/keyboard...

All I read all day long is all the problems people are having with their game, let me ask one question, Did you buy the downloaded XP/Vista version from GOG or are you still trying to get your old CD version to work right? I have the CD version and yes the box said it would play on XP, but it will not work right on Vista. The Mesa Mod has a nice little patch for those droid attack missions that make players nuts. So do yourself a favor and pay the $5.99 and download the Vista version of the game, mods and cheats will still work fine, I have played the game all the way and now I am just zipping around with my zero point warp drive doing all the missions in the game, and I haven’t had any problems. It’s only $5.99 and some download time. And you own it and can download it as many times as you want. And you can leave the aspirin in the bathroom.

Um, except the game is not $5.99 on GOG, it is actually $9.99:
http://www.gog.com/en/gamecard/darkstar_one

It’s funny that there is always that one person who doesn’t read the message, but would rather point out something as little as a $4 difference. Just for you it’s $9.99 cogadh.