Ideas....

[Beck]

Restrictions do not have to be arbitrary or unrealistic. One of things I dislike about the racial techs is the reasoning does not work both ways. On one hand if you're organic, it's taken ions to develop their special tech and hence is too difficult within the bounds of the game for others to learn even if taught by a willing ally. Yet if one developed an organic culture, wouldn't the reverse generally though not always apply? Having devoted their entire culture in organics for ions, wouldn't there be certain general techs which would be equally unlearnable to them not being of organic nature. As it is, there is no way of limiting them to the general techs (or any of the other racial techs). This is where I would see the use of a "can't have a certain tech" requirement. If you choose to follow certain paths like the racial techs, there would be areas because of that specialization which you would as find as undecipherable as the racial techs are considered to be to the rest of the races. There could be other specialty techs which would preclude some other tech if for no other reason than the inertia that builds up as huge amounts of resources are devoted to any single task. There becomes a point when too much is invested with too many people's egos, etc. on the line to change to something else. It's not always one can't do something as much as one won't. And if it basically got you to the same general point its even tougher. The organics come up with their own Version of armor, they wouldn't even think of developing any other type as the one they have within their frame of reference works just fine. They shouldn't have ability to research the general tech armor as they would have no cause to until such a time as they encountered other races and some other armor proven more effective. It wouldn't have to prevent you from capturing the tech.