If I change the default number of sectors above 10k when creating the universe (I've tried 11k, 12k, 15k, 20k, 25k all with leaving the rest of the settings at their defaults) then dignitaries and trade routes break. Tarnus saw what the game was like.. It doesn't make sense, but it seems to be consistent.
I'm going to make a new game with 10k and growing, and we'll see what happens there. If you (or anyone else) would like a dump of the database, or any other info that might help determine the cause of this issue, please let me know.
You can reach me at
mailto:admin@darkelves.com/Jeff
So you get the error on create universe on anything over 10K, sounds like its a memory issue or a time out. Have you done any adjustments to your php.ini file??