Faction name: Incrementors

Unique gameplay: Essential Traits are linked strongly to the core mechanic and lore that I would like to propose; Balancing Traits are those that came in hindsight for the sake of balance. Optional stuff are those that I am still unsure of their implementation. 

1. [Essential Trait] No/Less expansion disapproval. "Another unto the Perpetual Spiral."

2. [Essential Trait] Unable to research or obtain unique city improvements in anyway. Unable to utilize boosters from luxury resources "Absence of hubris." 

3. [Essential/Balancing Trait] Units will have halved stats outside of their own territory. This trait is negated when units enter battle alongside an allied faction; Optional +20% boost to all stats when battling along side an allied faction. Optional unique technology to negate the trait all the time later in the tech tree. "Synchronization"

4. [Essential Trait] Additional Minor Faction slot or increased bonus from Minor Factions.

5. [Balancing Trait/Optional] Populations must be manufactured. 

Background:

   The identity of the Incrementors could hardly be defined by their physical quality. Bipedal machines with uncannily elegant aesthetic, capable of sustaining themselves with organic matters, each hosting an anomaly; What appears to be gaseous substance of shifting colors is actually  a fragment of their deity-like “Perpetual Spiral”: Once merely a cloud storage of a highly academic civilization that no longer exists. It was their greatest treasure, witness and evidence to their passion of archiving everything within the vast ocean of stars. The sapient mass of data now drifts aimlessly, using the machines as its emissaries, so that it can continue to wrap itself more and more with knowledge of the universe. 

To the Incrementors of the Perpetual Spiral, violence would only destroy precious information, and dominance is but a fragile state of being.

(In case someone feels like 'where did the helix-thingy get the machines?': They started from frames of work droids from the old days.)

[Apologies for long-time Endless Space fans as my knowledge is limited to Endless Legend mechanics]

Cool ideas here. I'm curious what you mean by them not being able to "research or obtain unique city improvements". Do you mean any improvements of any sort? Or do you mean something more specific by "unique"? Also, the minor faction slots trait doesn't really work here cause ES2 is a little different from EL. Feel free to check out my submission, which has lots of links to the Game design documents. Overall, great stuff and good luck!