There are three main parts to this suggestion, and while each could be implemented independently all three synergize together.
1) Tweaking Bureaucrats
Currently, Bureaucrats produce a whopping 10 admin cap, and the Bureaucratic Center planetary designation gives an extra +2. As most players know, Admin cap is barely a throttle on expansion, and even large sprawling empires only need one or two planets dedicated to being Bureaucratic Centers. There is also the major flavor fail that the capital is a bad place to build Administrative offices, as you can't get the +2 from the planet designation. My solution is that Bureaucrats get lowered to producing only 4 admin cap base. The Empire Capital designation is also changed to give +3 admin cap per bureaucrat. Ideally the Bureaucratic Center designation would only be available to sector capitals as well. This would significantly nerf the amount of admin cap an empire could produce, and make the capital world the center of all your bureaucrats.
2) The Core Sector
To pair with the above suggestion, the core sector would have a modifier giving it -33% sprawl from all sources. Systems, planets, pops, all of it. This would make advancing outside of your core sector be a significant increase in the amount of admin cap required to support a growing empire, and make a more tall play style much more viable (if still not optimal).
3) Unity
While both Unity and Technology suffer penalties for being over admin cap, that is rarely the case. I suggest that (like before Federations) unity constantly scales with ever increasing empire sprawl, at a relatively slow rate. It makes perfect sense that a larger empire would be much less unified, and it would differentiate technology and unity more. Unity is also something that players can freely ignore, as the trickle of unity from entertainers and administrators is often enough to get traditions at a reasonable rate. Making Unity scale with net empire sprawl would offer an incentive for keeping it low (potentially only building up in your core sector).
1) Tweaking Bureaucrats
Currently, Bureaucrats produce a whopping 10 admin cap, and the Bureaucratic Center planetary designation gives an extra +2. As most players know, Admin cap is barely a throttle on expansion, and even large sprawling empires only need one or two planets dedicated to being Bureaucratic Centers. There is also the major flavor fail that the capital is a bad place to build Administrative offices, as you can't get the +2 from the planet designation. My solution is that Bureaucrats get lowered to producing only 4 admin cap base. The Empire Capital designation is also changed to give +3 admin cap per bureaucrat. Ideally the Bureaucratic Center designation would only be available to sector capitals as well. This would significantly nerf the amount of admin cap an empire could produce, and make the capital world the center of all your bureaucrats.
2) The Core Sector
To pair with the above suggestion, the core sector would have a modifier giving it -33% sprawl from all sources. Systems, planets, pops, all of it. This would make advancing outside of your core sector be a significant increase in the amount of admin cap required to support a growing empire, and make a more tall play style much more viable (if still not optimal).
3) Unity
While both Unity and Technology suffer penalties for being over admin cap, that is rarely the case. I suggest that (like before Federations) unity constantly scales with ever increasing empire sprawl, at a relatively slow rate. It makes perfect sense that a larger empire would be much less unified, and it would differentiate technology and unity more. Unity is also something that players can freely ignore, as the trickle of unity from entertainers and administrators is often enough to get traditions at a reasonable rate. Making Unity scale with net empire sprawl would offer an incentive for keeping it low (potentially only building up in your core sector).
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