There still seem to be a lot of techs in the tech trees that do nothing. For example I researched Hyperion Matrix (something like that) in the Thalan Tech tree, and didn't see any results from it. No new structures to build, no change in any bonuses on any planets, nothing. A tech researched that produced... Nothing. It looks like there are other examples of similar things in the tech trees I have not gotten to yet. A tech name listed, but no buildings or bonuses or anything else listed with it.
