The Virtual Successors 

Defensive-Diplomats  

Gameplay Style:

The aimed gameplay is to focus on the players planets, to draw in as many societies as possible to max out their bonuses  and focus on defense. Building population up in more advance systems, then transferring them to new outer planets to quickly bring up their production

---------

Home-planet:

Rocky (starts with a "random" minor faction on it)

Hero's:

• Cost's are much Higher then standard units
• Can be reconstructed via a planet (returns to hero tab) rather then reactivated for with Dust when killed.
• VS Hero's provide 1 population Unit on a planet, and a ship when placed in space (ship reforms if destroyed in battle and the armada survives (not sure how the captaincy works in ES2 as far as captain health and such)).

Affinity:

Artificial Constructs

• VS population is constructed from industry (new facilities & bodies) [tempted to say can't be bought]
• VS population in naturally unhappy, but good at building things
• Receives Happiness from the variety of  inhabitants.
• VS population can be converted into ships and planet defenses (costs apply) (and vis-versa)

Traits

• Complex work: Colonies take longer to set up (Setting up Data networks and Initial facilities)
• Nothing Interesting Happens in Space: Negative Approval from active ships
• Virtual Affinity: Extra effects form Virtual Ruins and events
• No Reason to Leave:   (Faction) population doesn't migrate form owned systems
• Advance Product Fabrication: Industry Bonuses to trade routes
• Flying Fortresses: Ship's are Stronger When Defending

Background

Their society discovered a Virtual Citadel, a facility that contained was once home to a sect of the Virtual Endless. After years of study they eventually found a way to become virtual themselves. 

This lead to a split between those that wished to be virtual and those that didn't that eventually lead to a civil war, with the Virtual's using a weapon that the previous Virtual's developed, but never dared to use. It scorched the planet, leaving it a barren crisp husk of ash and embers. 

Century's passed, with not much to do in infinity, their society eventually descended into a madness, with boredom sinking in. Loosing all purpose, living in limbo. no matter number of exuberant virtual parties that went on forever, not gorging their senses with a wide array and mix of sensations, or the simulated worlds that they populated and destroyed on whim. They continued in this manor until they almost forgot their previous physical existence, their mental dataforms twisted after so many cycles of  changing themselves with each new fad in order to keep themselves relevant.

This changed when their planet started to support life again, and had evolved a second sentient species. They took it upon themselves lead them, seeking the novelty of the simple life. Using the tech available to them and reverse engineering the abilities of dust they learnt of ways to manipulate nanobots to craft and construct new and improved forms. Crafting bodies in the form of monoliths of technology and avatars that flaunted their abilities and skills,  with exaggerated bodies to that suited them. They care for lesser beings that exists within their structures and on their planets, leading them.

Their boredom still gets to them, leading to them taking up 'hobbies' in order to fill their needs, often pursuing strange way's to past their time. Interactions with dust can sometimes interfere with the dataform's of a Virtual Successor, decoding then recompiling them  into perfected forms giving them a stronger sense of purpose, turning their hobbies from a pass time into obsessions, that or loosing their data to oblivion.

The population is in the databanks which is why they take so long to set up colonies, but to interact they need bodies and infrastructure such as power and what not to actually do stuff. But other populations require food, so they grow food to feed the people they care for...  but yes essentially the same as the Broken Lords.

As far as the military side, I initially thought up that there ships would be fairly powerful as an offset to the drawback of the unhappiness (they would essentially be parts the monolithic buildings flying around), as well as a happiness boost whenever something interesting happens, so as long as they are doing something they don't effect the happiness overall. that and tying in with the changing of the population from pop to ship, the reverse would also be true, leading to a Civ that can quickly bolster its Colonies once they are no longer outposts. 

I've taken a liking to the Game lore, and tried to expand upon it in the same way the Cult of The Endless did in EL, as they were also a great fan crating that made it to the mainstream cannon

As for my typos, it's a bad speller syndrome. Good at writing lore though, I think a lot of things out and change them as I go to get it to be the best that it can be