Ah well, had to try...:)

Whatever you do, just make sure the universe is set 40,000 years in the future.
It'll sell.
Big time.

I don't know ... I would assume so. A galaxy-wide empire would be difficult to maintain without some (a lot of) communication.

Well, depending on who you talk to, it's either "subjugated" or "liberated"...

Seriously -- I see it as a heterogeneous grouping. Some of the subject states joined the Empire "willingly", while others were conquered.

Here's a thought:

The title of Emperor is not hereditary, but elected. There are precious few Electors, and very few of them are Human. This means the Human population in the galaxy (which just happens to be the majority ) feels left out and marginalized -- so when the Fall happens, the Humans are among the first to see an opportunity. They are the driving force behind the Assembly. While they see this as more representative and "fair", many non-Humans fear being shut out of the power structure.

I'd make FTL comm something that requires some serious cube-age, so it's only on huge ships, installations, and somewhat important planets.

I can see where conquered members started out as threats, and had to be subjugated to remove the threat - I can't see them getting a 'vote' as you outline below. Non-threatening races (or races totally oblivious to the Empire) ar simply surrounded by Empire Space, and mostly ignored.

...which in turn leads to more acrimony, and keeps any reformation of the Empire weak if not non-functional. It ends up becoming a community of races that share some common experience and technology - but actual governmental functionality doesn't exist beyond small local groupings. They MIGHT co-operate in the face of a threat.

NOW, do I start making up some factions? 

Wif lots o' skulz...

I still say they're simply overcompensating for other "issues". 

Da Orks reproduce by sporez or budding....don't they?

Nah, you leave too many well defined edges and the file marks show up too well.

You may have to apply bondo, too - sometimes the serial numbers are incised real deep.

:ugeek:

Too many consonants running together.

The Canamurens?

If you're serious about something along these lines, "North American Combine" has a nice ring - but I seem to recall it being taken - West Columbian Commonwealth, Normerican Commonwealth, Solarian Assemblage?

That's why I said:
"but I seem to recall it being taken" ..didn't remember where.

Ammercal seemed an obvious nod to "American-Californian" to me, but "Solarian Assemblage" (or, Solarian XXXwhateverXXX) seemed a more usable name...

Nope.

I'm British, so I would've gone for something like the New Avalonian Union, maybe, or the Albionian Empire.

Again, this is not "our" galaxy -- at least not overtly -- so the names "Avalon" and "Solarian" would not fit.