From most of the posts I've read, the crashes were due mostly to old drivers for gfx cards and dual-core processors. That does make an interesting theory, but the SD folks are pretty straight-forward and I tend to give people the benefit of the doubt until given a reason otherwise. I think the way the devs have put it is that you miss out on all the improvements and added content from updates if you pirate the game.
By fully lit, you mean that when one of your ships is by a star, the side furthest from the star is not dark (shaded)? Trying to figure out if it is just a matter of your personal preferences/expectations or if it is an actual problem. I haven't heard anyone having shading problems, might make sure all your drivers are up to date. I think there is a sticky thread relating to your processor, but sounds like a gfx card problem to me, if it is even a p
If you can post your system specs and gfx card, plus exactly what is bothering you about the graphics (textures, lights, etc) then you might be able to get some help.
There are a couple options at this Link
Looks like you are running in Portuguese? I have read other peoples problems being fixed by running XP in English.