here's the for-now-final version of my slower technological progression mod, using fenyo's latest addition to the game that allows for different manufacturing items to produce the same things...
here's what it does:
alien weapons cannot be used by humans. not without modifications, that is.
alien technology is researched in layers. at first, you have no clue how they work, then you find out they are operated by tapping into the mind of the user. then you find out that you can use mind probes to replace the relevant parts and make alien weapons human-usable. in the end, you can discover how to build the weapons from scratch.
human versions of the alien weapons are weaker.
I strongly recommend using the advanced option that self-destructs the weapons of killed aliens for the optimal experience of this.as an extra, I added HWP/Plasma, HWP/Launcher and Hovertank/Laser, because why not? and to manufacture a tank with a certain weapon, you need one of those weapons as raw material.
also, the research topics for "tank weapon" and "base defense module" for the advanced weapons (laser / plasma / fusion) have been split into separate research subjects.
EDIT: updated file... human mind probe text string was missing