So... in preparation for the next game, I pulled GalCiv2 back out of retirement.  Still a great game.  However, as I recall, this auto-design feature was never very good. 

I managed to create a custom ship style, set up new starting ships, and all that.  I understand that the auto-designer doesn't seem to improve engines or add support range (hopefully it can do that in the next game).  But what I can't figure out is why some ship templates that I designed become available as soon as the techs are researched and subsequently update when techs update... while other templates don't update.  

For example:

1) I made a tiny ship called "Sprite."  As soon as I have the first beam weapon, the ship becomes available - twice.  One is named Sprite M1 or something like that.  The other is just Sprite.  The former, of course, is the auto-design version and the other is the ship I made.

2) I made a medium hull ship call "Defense Pod."  If I research up to medium hull, but not the other involved techs, then as it should, the template for the ship appears in the template section, but no ship.  Now, when I finally research it all, the ship appears as buildable.  But this is not labeled "M1" and is not auto-designed.

Anyone know what makes some ships auto-design and others not?  What conditions must be met to make a ship auto-design?