Airship Guide

[BonzaiFerroni]

Here is an update on the question about whether stats influence sector unlocks! \o/

If you've been following this thread for a while, you may remember my plan to use a brand new workshop/airship to help us learn more about whether surveillance (or any stat) contributes to the chances of unlocking sectors. The plan was to see how far this new airship could get with just the lowest-tier bronco parts. Here are three hypotheses:

1. If the airship hit a "wall" and couldn't discover any more sectors with just those bronco parts, we would know that a higher tier is necessary for discovering sectors.
2. If it eventually discovered higher level sectors but only after very many visits, it would support the idea that a higher tier increases the probability of discovering sectors.
3. If it seemed to discover sectors at a rate comparable to the airships in our database who have upgraded their parts, it would support the idea that stats/parts are not as important as we first believed for unlocking sectors.

Results:

Sector  Rank Discovered  Parts equipped  Forecastle previously recommended 
------  ---------------  --------------  ---------------------------------
SC03    Rank 1           Bronco          Bronco
SC04    Rank 3           Bronco          Bronco
SC05    Rank 5           Bronco          Invincible 
SC06    Rank 13          Bronco          Invincible
SC07    Rank 14          Bronco          Invincible
SC08    Rank 24          Bronco          Invincible
SC10    Rank 26          Bronco          Enterprise
SC11    Rank 14          Bronco          Invincible

Conclusion:
The Champagne Supernova! seemed to discover sectors at a rate that was on-par or even better than the typical airship from our database, which used upgraded parts. The third hypothesis seems the most valid in light of this data.

This analysis has limitations. It doesn't completely rule out hypothesis #2, it could be that the Champagne Supernova! was just particularly lucky. It also only looks at the sectors up through 11. It could be that hypothesis #1 or #2 becomes more relevant for higher level sectors. I'll continue to explore to rule this out! (Hypothesis #1 actually is certain for sectors 17 and beyond, there is a minimum surveillance requirement of 90)

Further note:
This actually supports the idea of a "minimalist" approach to the workshop. The Champagne Supernova! is not getting quite as much EXP or items, and is obviously taking longer because of the unimproved rigging and hull. However, it is still making steady progress. For those who don't have the luxury of being able to come up with materials for parts easily, and especially for those who are running very small or solo FCs, this means they won't have to invest in every set of parts along the way. If they plan to use all four airships and have the most flexibility in airship configurations at higher levels, it will still be advisable. But it is also possible to target specific parts with minimal sacrifice and still make progress!