Ever seen the movie "Pitch Black"? If you're having trouble surviving contact Vin_Diesel@PitchBlackSupport.com.
Lastly, keep an eye on warning messages and your pollution output.
It seems the pitch black mod disables the normal dissipation of pollution. Is that an intended feature?
It certainly makes for a pretty brutal start, as normally a small starter base is 'hidden' from the biters for a while because its pollution dissipates. With this on, they smell you almost immediately.