[DirectorTsaarx]

Seriously, back to original questions:

What traits to choose?

A number of AI take the Advanced Storage; gives you extra room for facilities - a good bonus

There's a trait that makes it so you don't need spaceports - decent bonus, as the effect is 1 extra facility slot per system

Propulsion Experts: 1 bonus movement point for your ships. Something I learned back in my Star Fleet Battle days: never give up the initiative (i.e., move faster than your opponent). Or, as my father put it when teaching me how to drive - "He who hesitates is lost" (again, move faster than the other guy).

Personally, I like to increase both research and build rates. So I take the scientist culture, take the trait that lets planetary spaceyards build at 125% normal rate, increase spaceyard rate and research by 20% each, and then take Temporal Knowledge. (Temporal not only gives you better shipyards at the upper levels of the tech, you get the best happiness-increasing facility - and you'll soon learn how important it is to keep the populace happy). Oh, and round off with Propulsion Experts.

But everyone has their own opinion - play a while and figure out what you like.