I've updated the tech systems for dark matter techs and beyond! Events now track how many of each "tier" you've unlocked, and once you unlock a sufficient number of techs, the next tier will become available. This will clear up bottlenecking issues, where you're sitting around doing repeatables in society and engineering fields while you're waiting for a draw and subsequent research of a generator tech. Progressing requires almost, but not quite all the techs available in each tier.

Unfortunately, if you're already at these end game techs, this update is likely to softlock you out of them. If that's the case, you can enter the console command and type:

setflag country slgt_tier_6_cleared

Or whatever tier numbers you've already researched. That flag is what the even code is looking for.

I've also moved some of the kinetic techs over so that people who use kinetics don't need an AP just to progress with everyone else, but "armor piercing" kinetics are still locked behind "Potential Kinetics" along with a re-tool of the Gargoyle, now appearing as a spinal weapon.

The large carrier ships and the like can now upgrade to Microgate Reactors, should you play long enough to obtain the tech. This is important, partly because I've added power costs to missiles and certain other weapons which didn't have them before, and that resulted in an effectiveness reduction for some ships - the Exalted Ones and Atman in particular, though the Meteor Missile also took a hit. Aphophis Cruisers were also forced to slim down, and even standard Wayfarer Cruisers may need to diet if they're loaded up on missiles.

The reactors for Juggernauts, the Colossus, and the other big ships now all have a cost and upkeep.

Specter Armor has been adjusted. It now has less overall power, and is a bit of a side-grade unless the ship equipping it has the power to put Specter Armor in every single slot, at which point you're maximizing both hardening and the available protection from the armor. There is now also a Megastructural version of Specter Armor that can be equipped on mega carriers.

Juggernaut armor now offers more balanced protection, and Juggernaut generators provide a proper amount of energy. Weapon power use is no longer offset to the national energy stores, meaning the Juggernaut will be draining your coffers as a matter of simple upkeep rather than as a way to fire its main guns. Juggernaut armor is now also available for the Colossus if you complete the Juggernaut Overhaul tech. I also corrected the missing Colossus section that was supposed to appear when you researched the weapon hardpoints tech, and the Colossus can now equip a bunch of strike craft if you have that tech.

Necromancers should now properly unleash their "undead horrors" after you've achieved the relevant techs for your chosen ascension path. Working with them requires a permit, a pair of long rubber gloves, and a strong stomach. A lab coat and well-rehearsed maniacal laugh are optional but strongly encouraged.

Updated dependencies for "Dark Defense Armies" to require some sort of dark matter technology, instead of just checking to make sure you don't have all the techs that would be better.

We now have unique armies again! Though it's a little different this time. Now every ascension perk gets one large, powerful army choice similar to the warform. Because of how you can only fight with a certain number of armies at once, packing all your power into one unit makes a big difference in success rates and survivability.

Gene ascension gets titanic gene warriors, which are big and have a lot of health.

Psionic ascension gets possessed psionic soldiers, who do tons of damage and a lot of morale damage, though they still only have as much health as an ordinary psionic soldier.

Cybernetic ascension gets a high quality all-rounder that suffers slightly less war exhaustion when they die.

Synths get their own warform.

Reanimators have their own "undead chimera" which is essentially just an undead titanic gene warrior.

If you don't have an ascension perk and all the requisite techs, you'll eventually get "Dark Armies", which are just regular armies only twice as strong.

Acquiring any of the above army types will also unlock new defensive armies. Gene ascension starts using ordinary Gene Warriors as defensive troops, for example, which is not as powerful as the new assault armies, but is all the same much better than the basic defense armies you'd have otherwise. Also, the special armies have their own icons! This seems really important with the new starbase army outliner, which is extremely sloppy about presenting your choices. It shouldn't be hard to tell what you're recruiting, just click on something with the picture of your big guys.

I also added two (technically three but one's just a corporate version) new civics that serve as escalations of Reanimators and Death Cult.

Something about 3.8 seems to dislike the custom assault armies that this mod added, so unfortunately they have to be removed in order for the AI to behave correctly.

This mod's jobs should now cooperate with the Oppressive Dystopia civic. "All the Worlds, A Stage" is now not available if you have that civic, because the entertainers would be out in the streets breaking the rules, and although the police will tell you there's always a new one to pop up behind the last one you dragged into an alley, in truth, entertaining is a craft which requires many years to learn and you can, in fact, run out of them.

Reduced some of the bonuses provided by the "transcendant" trait since they stack with the number of counselors who have them now.

"Ritual" leader experience bonus now reduced as well. The Shroud can only work so hard to make you a better person, though it does leave you with a lot of experiences.

It appears many sources of leadership experience have been reduced by about half, so this mod's leadership experience bonuses have likewise been reduced.