Well it seems that latest version had disappeared - cant find it on any computer.. I might as well take the opportunity to just do things from the ground up! (might as well, what with all the updated sprites in the base game)
The factions described in the OP will be pretty similar:
The Ceredia Imperium will still be very low-tech, using primarily their own pre-autofactory designs (with updated graphics, may have some renames, etc). They have a large well-populated capital world with only limited autofactory production - most of their current production is using more conventional means with the sheer population and resources they have at their disposal.
The Directorate will still be very high-tech, with fancy high-end bleeding-edge designs of their own creation and heavily automated (but non-sentient) ships. Their capital world is a somewhat populated cold planet where the primary industry is agriculture, and they largely rely on their dealings with the both legitimate traders (for food) and the Green Sun Pirates (for tech) to obtain blank master chips and raw materials.
The Green Sun Pirates will be all over the board, using everything from converted freighters to what the Directorate deems its 'old obsolete designs'. GSP are headquartered in an old partially-constructed astroarcology and the planet it orbits. While they still call themselves Pirates, they are technically Privateers and the Directorate treats them as an 'autonomous extended military' as well as a means of resource acquisition and getting dirty work done. GSP as a result leaves a few factions alone who are valuable trading partners of the Directorate.
The Isoran Republic will have mid and high-tech designs, including a small number of older Directorate designs. They are made up of a number of moderately populous worlds and some smaller stations.
Also had an idea for a 5th faction, but they aren't quite fleshed out yet.