I've just started modifying my research ruleset, and I would like to propose a change:
Currently, it is possible to define a required item for a given research project only via the "needItem" boolean. This is limited in several ways: the item needed needs to have the same name as the research project and you need exactly one item.
I propose changing this to a string+value (item + amount) list.
For example, it would make total sense if researching plasma rifle would need 1 (or perhaps 2) plasma rifle(s) as a reverse engineering template plus a few units of alien alloys as raw material. Elerium research could need several units of elerium. A proper autopsy might need more than one corpse (imagine trying to properly get a full anatomy report from a sectoid that was killed by a grenade...)