the big dino zombie was the only casualty

Know 4->5

Preservation  3->4

Control undead 4->5

Program Undead 4->5

Realm Admin 2 -> 3

Research  2->3

Know necro 3->4

Knowledgeable undead 2->3

Suture 0->1

Knowledge anatomy 0->1

I would like to begin to research how to make more permanent undead. More akin to acting as automatons or something.

On a related but kind of separate,  having undead in a stasis or waiting. I very much dream of having undead buried around the town to rise to defend.

Any ideas on how I can begin going about it in game or is it more of a wait and xp thing?

zombies are notoriously nonpermanent, although you could still add an extended animation to bump your timers

other types of undead are classically expensive.  so pick your poison

not a lot of barriers preventing you from just burying a bunch of corpses to have at the ready?  unless i'm missing something in that question?

Okay.

Sorry for miscommunication.

Basically  two goals.

1. A way to have more permanent/ long lasting undead if its feasible to make zombies last longer effectively great.

Otherwise maybe research a new undead that would.

With this in place have an effective hidden army throughout the area that could be roused on some sort of activation.

Also though could have just consistent labor

Anything that would require or could use consistent simple labor

I wasnt too worried about acquiring corpses  more the goal.

Plenty of undead are 'permanent.'  All you do is create a bio-feedback-loop so that the creature can sustain its own necro energies.  This is more commonly called "consciousness," and means that the undead is no longer beholden to you or your orders.  Instead of running off your juice, its responsible for its own (w/e that might look like from a ghoul on up). 

The closest working middle ground might be a skeleton.  Basically a zombie, but running off an "internal battery" of onyx soaked in necro juice.  It is not truly permanent, but has better longevity than zombies depending on onyx capacity, while still remaining a mental blank slate like zombies.

Mass activation? defined as finding ways to break the inherent linear scaling system of how many undead you can raise in a single action.  I actually pulled up DND EpicAnimateDead this morning, and it is still linear.  A level 3 necromancer that somehow managed to learn and cast EpicAnimate would still not animate anymore than Arthure can, because he's still level 3. 

Circle magic is perhaps the only example where physical area (size of the circle, which is basically an ingredient limitation) is what stops the infinite rather than the number of corpses/level.