Optimal Crystal Cruiser Unlock Strategy (SPOILERS)

I got this unlock without much trouble before the Advanced Edition came out, but you can improve on this strategy using variant C of the Rock Cruiser. The procedure below assumes you don't have access to the Rock C ship. If you do, you can use Rock C to start with a crystal crew member, making steps 3-4 unnecessary. Step 5 will become somewhat harder, since there will no longer be a quest marker in the Rock Homeworlds, so you will have to stumble upon the Crystal Sector entrance by chance. If you rename your starting Crystal crew member "Ruwen", the quest market will appear anyway -- this is arguably an exploit, but makes the Rock C strategy a slam dunk.

The down side is that to play with Rock C, you need to first unlock Rock A (which you pretty much need regardless), then unlock Rock B by completing two of three challenges, and then reach sector 8 in Rock B to unlock Rock C.

The blue option in Step 3 (below) is only available if you have Rock Plating, which only comes on Rock ships. To unlock the Rock Cruiser A, go to the Rock Homeworlds and seek out non-distress beacons (Long Range Scanners will detect a possible ship). When a Rock war vessel trash talks you, talk back to them and you will get a quest. Go to the quest (which will have a "hot star" hazard) and wait for the ship to escape -- do not destroy it. You will get a second quest marker; go there and the Rock Cruiser A will be unlocked.

Select the Rock Cruiser, and make sure the game is on Easy mode. You will start with 30 scrap, which is just enough to purchase Long Range Scanners from a store. If you see a store at an adjacent beacon, warp there and check the store for Long Range Scanners. If you're not next to a store, or if the store doesn't have Scanners, restart. Do not bother jumping to any beacons without stores; it's much faster to restart and check a fresh map.

You should see a store at least once every minute or three. Unfortunately, each store sells only two of the five item categories. Even if it does sell Augmentations, there is only about a one in four chance of Long Range Scanners being available for sale. So roughly one in ten stores will have Long Range Scanners. This averages out to about 10-20 minutes of restarting before you get Scanners.

Do not advance to Step 2 until you have a Rock Cruiser with Long Range Scanners. The time saved by having Scanners is enormous, and the time you spend restarting will pay off many times over.

Repeat after me: "do not waste time fighting ships". Fights are time consuming, and you will not need any combat strength to complete this unlock. Avoid beacons with a "possible ship detected" whenever you can. This advice applies to the entire game. If you do get in a fight in the first few sectors, you can blow up the enemy for a reward. Past the first 3-4 sectors, you will be better off jumping away as soon as your FTL Drive recharges.

Watch your fuel. Running out of fuel is devastating to this unlock strategy, so always buy fuel at stores (after repairing, of course). You should find enough random rewards to keep your hull and fuel topped off. If you run out of scrap, consider selling your weapons, but don't sell Rock Plating until after Step 3, and don't sell your Long Range Scanners, ever.

Avoid nebulas. Nebula sectors are useless for this unlock, and nebula beacons have a chance of a mandatory encounter that's hidden from Long Range Scanners. Stick to normal sectors and beacons when you can.

Head to the exit beacon in Sector 1 by the most direct and safe route. Continue traveling through sectors as quickly and safely as possible until you get to the sector types that you need.

This event occurs in Engi, Rock, and Pirate sectors. Of these, Engi sectors are by far the most desirable, because they have fewer mandatory fights, and also because they can have a Zoltan Research Station (which is needed for the next step). Whenever you have a chance to go to one of these sector types, take it.

Once you're in an Engi, Rock, or Pirate sector, do a thorough search for Distress Beacons. Go to every one you can. If you find a Dense Asteroid Field, congratulations! Use your Rock Armor, take the Stasis Pod, and move on to the next step.

This event occurs in Engi and Zoltan sectors. If you just finished the last step, double check if you're in an Engi sector, in which case you can continue exploring. Otherwise, move on as quickly as possible until you find an Engi or Zoltan sector.

Zoltan Research Stations occur at normal beacons (no ship, no hazard, no distress beacon, no store marker). Travel to as many normal beacons as you possibly can. Leave no stone unturned. Zoltan Research Stations aren't guaranteed to occur, but most Engi and Zoltan sectors have at least one.

When you find a Zoltan Research Station, use the blue option and you will get a Crystal Crew Member. He will tell you what to do next.

Unfortunately, the Rock Homeworlds is a unique sector. If you've already seen it earlier in your game, then you'll never see it again. So, if you ever have Rock Homeworlds as a sector choice, and you don't have the Crystal Crew Member yet, you will need to restart.

Once you have the Crystal Crew Member, you will want to maximize your chance of finding the Rock Homeworlds. Do this by following a route that gives you the most red sector options.

Once you find the Rock Homeworlds, the rest of the unlock is easy. There will be a quest marker; go to it and choose the blue option. This will take you to the Hidden Crystal Worlds, where there will be a second quest marker. Go to that beacon, and the Crystal Cruiser will be unlocked.

If you get to the end of sector 6 and don't have Rock Homeworlds as an option for sector 7, then you have failed and will have to restart.

In four hours of play using these techniques, I got the Damaged Stasis Pod six times, got a Crystal Crew Member three times, and unlocked the Crystal Cruiser. Please post your success or failure stats below so we know how effective this strategy is. Additional ideas and improvements are very much welcomed!