Experience analyisis and combat doctrines:
Techs that are unlocked by fighting a conflict with a certain type of weapon or defense system
for the first time. After the first engagement, flaws can be found in the design of the warships
and the tactics used to employ them.
For example, the humans and the Drengin are at the tail end of the initial colonization rush. At this
point, both have already sunk a little bit into weapons research and now have beam-based
starfighters ala GC1. When their borders come up against one another, the Drengin send a dozen
of their fighters in to intercept any human colonizers from getting at the last handful of good planets.
The humans send in their own fighters, and we have meelee. The last planets get claimed,
neither has the resources to launch an invasion campaign, so the shooting war ends.
Now the human scientists look at where the war went right and where it went wrong. This type of
laser apparently punched through their shields more reliably, or this manuever that this squadron
pulled off in that battle should be a part of our training regime.
Five years later, the humans' friends the Altarians start a shooting war with the Insectoids. Neither
side has fought a war before. The humans trade their experience analysis as in exchange for some
other tech. The Altarians now have better trained ship crews and improved weapons.
Tech scheme:
At least one "theory" tech for each weapon/defense model (beam/missile/mass driver) with
applied techs under it. The theory tech gets unlocked by a conflict involving the model.