Perhaps when 3.1 comes back i'll implement this but as of right now a forumla approach is impossible due to modding limitations, also this version is prolly many versions out of data since I last updated it and I wouldn't say it's compatible with 3.0. It's probably generating a lot of errors as it runs

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I also reckon that the aforementioned bonus should be much more dramatic, and also exponential.
A good formula is this: m = bx^4 - p(x-1)^4
Where x is how common the tech is (ranging from 0 to 1), m is the resulting modifier, b is the modifier you'd get if everyone already has the tech, and p is the modifier you'd get if no one had the tech.

I think good values for this are b = 1 and p = 0.25, it means that the modifier is 0 when 41% of the galaxy has the tech, and the modifier is fairly tame between 20% and 60% tech frequency but gets pretty impactful past either point.

I also think that the bonus regarding empires you're adjacent to needs to be entirely reworked, it sounds too tempermental since it's a very powerful bonus but is disabled very easily. Perhaps it could be merged with the other change by giving adjacent empires double weight when considering how common a tech is.

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Does this work in 3.0?
Also, while this mod is definitely an improvement, I feel like it doesn't go far enough to boost fledgling empires which still stay permanently pathetic. The boost caps at just 25%, and can be easily knocked down by the presence of other weak mini-empires.

I reckon that for deciding how common a technology is in the galaxy, it should be weighted by sprawl; if an empire has 1000 sprawl and the combined sprawl of all empires is 8000, the tech is considered as belonging to 12.5% of the galaxy. This makes it slightly easier for tall empires to stay ahead of the curve, and means that uplifting primitives doesn't have a significant influence on how common a tech is.