I may never have a 'next empire' -- it wouldn't shock me if I'm playing the same save 5 or 10 real-life years from now. But if I do, it will be a multi-faction Sol start with international corporations as the factions. The concept I'm not sure about is whether to have the corporations wage war on each other in Sol, or have a government that enforces peace locally at first, with wars breaking out in the galactic expansion phase.