We can look up what services are available at a starport in an SF
game, but what is the feel of the place?
I'm using the classic Traveller starport codes for familiarity,
but I think this can apply to most interstellar settings.
Class A: it's huge and impersonal, and expensive. Ships come and go
all the time from both orbit and ground facilities. The downside town,
almost as much as the non-starport space habitat, is all
starport-focused businesses; it's not a tourist trap exactly, but
high-paid spacers who'll be shipping out tomorrow aren't going to
spend their time looking for a bargain. If you had time, you'd go
further from the port. But if you've got the cash you can get well
fed, get your clothes and equipment upgraded, have a good night out,
get laid, and still be sure to catch your ship in the morning.
Class B: It wants to be a class A, but it isn't quite there. Things
are done a bit on the cheap because you can only charge so much per
ship, per passenger, per cargo container, and there just aren't enough
of them coming through to justify the first-rate kit. There are busy
times and quiet times for ship movements, and when a few ships arrive
at the same time the bars get crowded.
Class C: although this is probably a purely planet-bound facility,
there's a portmaster and basic traffic control (higher-tech worlds may
automate that) and at least some maintenance operators and shops for
essentials that you can use without leaving the port. There's a
community of starport workers, and probably they all know each other
by sight if not to talk with. (This is probably the hardest sort of
port to infiltrate the staff of: bigger and you can get by with a fake
ID, smaller and you can pretend to be the latest casual labour.)
Class D: there's always a portmaster on duty, which probably means
four people have this job in rotation (more or fewer depending on
local work shifts), though you may find them dozing or studying for
exams while waiting for the next ship, and theirs is the only starport
job that's full-time. They'll tell you where to park, sort out the
paperwork, help drag the fuel hoses over to your ship, and advise you
on which local agency to use to hire some cargo handlers (maybe even
have them ready for you when you land). There may be traffic control,
but it's unusual to see two ship movements in the same day and mostly
it relies on ships using standard arrival and departure lanes and
watching out for each other's beacons. For repairs, again, book in
advance through the portmaster and hope you get someone competent,
Class E: nobody is here. There may be a notice board with instructions
on how to work the facilities, or maybe the beacon has a local com
number to call to get the duty customs person to leave their real job
and come out to the port. If there's a port office, it may be the only
building present; maybe they come on board for the formalities
instead. In any case, ships are left out in the weather. Traffic
control relies on manual avoidance, and that's never been a problem
because if two ships are moving in the same week that's an event.