So, let me tell you what's been going on.
I have the ruleset nearly together for the alpha version. I need to tweak the tech stuff to match properly, but it's basically there.
I've decided to split off the setting into a separate book. Furthermore, rather than a single setting, the game will have several potential settings that all draw off the existing civs (from the main book and Travelogue). This is based off some feedback I got from reviews of the first edition. The idea is to let folks who really know all the civilizations play in the big pool, but to provide the kiddie pool for people who don't want to read every single civ's description to feel like they can play the game.
All the civs and societies will still be in the book, but they'll be ingredients to pick from.
I have five out of (I hope) six settings chosen:
The Patent Office (the setting from the 1st edition)
Sublight
In this setting, no faster-than-light travel is possible, including travel via wormhole and the retrograde information transfer used by the Transcendentals. Characters travel in cryosleep to worlds isolated by years or centuries. Each trip takes them farther from anyone they’ve known, and toward a world that will change before they arrive. Psychohistory drives them to crisis points, when worlds will rise or fall and the characters’ actions can shift the balance.
Civilizations used: All, none strictly required.
The Divide
This setting uses the game’s most socially active civilizations. It focuses less on physical conflict and more on philosophical debate and moral questions. The setting is roughly divided into halves, with the Tao, Masquerade, and Stored comprising one side, and the Union, Logicians, and Replicants, composing the other. This setting is ideal for players who enjoy diplomatic missions, intrigue, and debate.
Civilizations used: Tao of History, the Eternal Masquerade, the Stored, the Cognitive Union, the Rationalist League, and the Replicants. The Roamers are an optional addition.
The Powder Keg
Put all the most explosive and warlike civilizations in the same box, and let them fight it out. It’s a recipe for disaster. This setting is perfect for players who want to blow things up, and GMs who want to bring the universe to the brink of war and beyond.
Civilizations used: Mechanica, the League of Independent Worlds, the Replicants, the Nanori, the Daoine,
To The Stars
Nearly every civilization that fled Earth in the Great Diaspora failed. The universe is littered with Cargo Cults, tiny and weak, clinging to what little they could keep. Only one high-tech group survived to seek out the fragments of humanity and, perhaps, unite them.
Civilizations used: Old-Worlders, Cargo Cults, the Stardwellers
