So, as a first suggestion, I propose we set SC: Discovery a few centuries into the future of the current mod, to give us ample space to resolve, modify and add new story arcs, systems, planets and so on. Also gives us more room to wiggle with ship design, given that in the future we won't be flying the exact same ships we fly now. We can keep the look and feel of the current ones, but they needn't be exact replica's.
Second suggestion is to identify story arcs. Quite obviously these are geared towards the seven Houses.
Question: What with the Zoners, the Colonial Republic, the Sirius Coalition? Can we identify them as major houses in the own right? What with the Canada & Australia, whose colonists were on board the Liberty and the Bretonia respectively?
As an added note; one thing I would -love- to see/create, is much more cultural variety within an individual House itself. I feel like this is something that's lacking in the current universe.
Anyway, I've tried to identify the major story arcs as the themes that touch upon more than just one House. I believe these take priority as they paint the canvas for all other stories to fit in. Feel free to correct me if you feel I'm wrong somewhere. So far I've found five (blue) and propose three new ones (red):
