As a military player, i can see a glaring issue for the future. Fleet sizes, particularly early, Era 1-2. At those Eras, fleet size will always be a better option over better guns. As not only will it improve the chances of winning fights, but also means you have more of an invasion block. At present Era2 "Improved Fleet Management" grants fleet cap for each ship unlocked. This is an issue for non-military players, as it is unlikely they are researching ships. So, people who are not going directly into military will find themselves vastly outclassed by larger, stronger fleets as a direct consequence. While i would expect a military player to have stronger fleets, i would say this will go far beyond balanced. Honestly, what would stop me as a Vodyani from just constantly eating a helpless Sophon who cannot mount a sizeable fleet per stack? I would simply argue that we take an ES1 direction, and have a raw increase such as Era3 +4Cp techs placed in the early game.

A tech that requires ship unlocks, should be a later tech. That way people who have been unlocking ships, have an incentive to get it, and those that are focusing on other things can avoid it without too much downside.