{"data":{"id":18988,"title":"Q&A: Drake Cutter","rsi_url":"https:\/\/robertsspaceindustries.com\/en\/comm-link\/engineering\/18988-Q-A-Drake-Cutter","api_url":"https:\/\/api.star-citizen.wiki\/api\/comm-links\/18988","api_public_url":"https:\/\/api.star-citizen.wiki\/comm-links\/18988","channel":"Engineering","category":"Development","series":"Concept Ship Q&A","images":[],"images_count":0,"translations":{"en_EN":"Drake Cutter Q&A\nNow that the Drake Cutter has been added to the 'verse, we posed a few questions to the vehicle team about the new, versatile starter ship. Here are the answers, straight from the designers themselves.\n\n1. How does the Cutter's armor compare to other ships in its class?\nCompared to other ships in its class, the Cutter is relatively tanky to offset its lower-than-average shields. This is achieved partly via its armor and partly by the base structure being stronger.\n\n2. What advantages and disadvantages does this ship have versus the other starters in its class?\nAside from the slight armor advantage mentioned earlier, the Cutter has a full interior, a healthy four SCU of cargo, and generous quantum and hydrogen fuel tanks.\n\n3. How does this ship handle, maneuverability-wise?\nFor its size, it\u2019s relatively fast in a straight line but is let down by the smaller maneuvering thrusters, which don\u2019t allow it to change velocity at higher speeds particularly well.\n\n4. Does the Cutter have any docking collars?\nIt does not have a docking collar.\n\n1. Do you see the Cutter being used as a snub or stevedore for ships it fits within, in the way the Pisces serves the Carrack?\nThe Cutter is probably too big of a ship to find much use in this category for anything but the largest of our ships, where it could certainly fill the role of a runabout. It\u2019s a much larger and heavier ship than our more typical runabouts though, so it\u2019s going to be quite a bit slower and more costly to fuel. However, it does have the advantage of being able to carry more than just people.\n\n2. What ships will the Cutter fit inside?\nAt present, just the 890 Jump. However, it\u2019s classified as an XS (Size 2) ship, so any future ships with that hangar size will accommodate it.\n\n3. Can the Cutter carry any land vehicles?\nThis wasn\u2019t a requirement of its design and, as such, none are officially supported. However, you\u2019ll find that a few of our smaller vehicles currently fit, such as the Drake Mule and Greycat STV.\n\n1. Is the cockpit separated from the cargo area to prevent venting, or is this all considered one area for the purposes of life support?\nThe Cutter is split into three areas: the cockpit, hab, and rear. The toilet is considered part of the hab for this purpose, so warn anyone else aboard.\n\n2. What are the Cutter\u2019s living amenities like?\nBarebones is probably the nicest way to put it: you\u2019ve got a bed with your very own reading light and a bathroom module. There\u2019s also a little bit of shelving space to put things on and a personal storage locker.\n\n3. What weapons can the weapon locker fit?\nThe weapon locker has room for two pistols, one longarm (such as rifle, shotgun, or LMG), one special weapon (such as a rocket launcher or railgun), and a MultiTool.\n\n1. Combat-wise, where is the Cutter supposed to fit in the overall scheme of things?\nThe Cutter is quite low in the combat rankings; it\u2019s not a combat-focused ship by any metric and its loadout reflects that. It\u2019ll have difficulties against anything combat-focused, such as an Arrow or Gladius, but will hold its own against the other starter ships.\n\n2. How does the signature of the Cutter compare to other starter ships when being scanned?\nIt has a slightly larger cross-section than most of the other starter ships due to just being bigger, but the IR and EM will be very similar as it has the same size and variety of components.\n\n3. Can the external lighting be controlled by the pilot?\nOnly the main headlight is controlled manually. The external lighting is triggered by the power state of the ship.\n\n4. Do the missile doors have clearance to open when the Cutter is landed?\nThey do, but we\u2019d recommend not attempting to launch missiles whilst landed\u2026\n\n1. Why does the Cutter Scout make an excellent starter ship?\nThe Scout is built off the Cutter, which is an excellent starter ship by itself, so all the same benefits apply, including onboard habitation and high quantum-fuel capacity.\n\n2. What advantages and disadvantages does the Cutter Scout have in comparison to the standard Cutter?\nCompared to the base Cutter, the big standout is better object detection at greater distances. The trade-off for the larger radar and necessary supporting components is the reduction of cargo capacity from 4 SCU to 2 SCU.\n\n3. How does the Cutter Scout compare against other scout ships like the Terrapin?\nCompared to the Terrapin, the Scout functions quite well in the current game, packing the same-sized radar item, allowing it to have equal scanning capabilities. Ultimately though, it is more fragile than the Terrapin, so not suited to long-duration expeditions in hostile environments.\n\n4. Is the Cutter Scout a multi-role scouting vessel, like the Freelancer DUR and Constellation Aquila, or a single-purposed scout ship, like the Terrapin?\nIt somewhat straddles the boundary between each. The Terrapin has extra armor to allow it to stay out for longer and travel further into hostile environments, while the Freelancer DUR and Constellation Aquila have greater onboard living capacity.\n\n1. Gameplay-wise, where is the Cutter Rambler supposed to fit in the overall scheme of things?\nThe Rambler is the final of the three original Cutter variants that were planned when the ship was designed and pushes the long-distance-exploration aspect of the series.\n\n2. What advantages does the Cutter Rambler have over the base Cutter and Scout?\nPurely from a numbers side, the Rambler has by far the biggest range, featuring more hydrogen and quantum fuel via additional fuel tanks. In addition to that, the Rambler has a much larger habitation area. This includes a large storage space for weapons, suit lockers, and a food processor to allow the player to stay out in the \u2018verse for longer.\n\n3. How does the Cutter Rambler compare to its competitors? For example, the Origin 100i, the Anvil C8X Pisces, and the Consolidated Outland Mustang Beta?\nThe Rambler\u2019s larger fuel tanks and more comfortable living space are designed to help the ship stay out there for longer and go further. Although it might not feature technology like the 100i's AIR system, its larger tanks give it plenty of staying power.\n\n4. The Cutter Rambler comes factory-equipped with a food processor. Are there any additional supplies that come with the Rambler, such as drinks or medical supplies?\nAlthough the Rambler features plenty of space to store supplies for exploring the \u2018verse, it does not come fitted with any of these as standard. It will be down to the player to gather supplies and make choices about what to bring with them.\n\nDISCLAIMERThe answers accurately reflect development\u2019s intentions at the time of writing, but the company and development team reserve the right to adapt, improve, or change feature and ship designs in response to feedback, playtesting, design revisions, or other considerations to improve balance or the quality of the game overall.","de_DE":"Drake Cutter Q&A\nJetzt, da der Drake Cutter dem Verse hinzugef\u00fcgt wurde, haben wir dem Fahrzeugteam ein paar Fragen zu dem neuen, vielseitigen Startschiff gestellt. Hier sind die Antworten, direkt von den Designern selbst.\n\nWie ist die Panzerung des Kutters im Vergleich zu anderen Schiffen seiner Klasse?\nIm Vergleich zu anderen Schiffen seiner Klasse ist der Cutter relativ stark gepanzert, um seine unterdurchschnittlichen Schilde auszugleichen. Das liegt zum einen an seiner Panzerung und zum anderen an der st\u00e4rkeren Grundstruktur.\n\nWelche Vor- und Nachteile hat dieses Schiff gegen\u00fcber den anderen Startern seiner Klasse?\nAbgesehen von dem bereits erw\u00e4hnten leichten Panzerungsvorteil verf\u00fcgt der Cutter \u00fcber einen vollen Innenraum, vier SCU Ladung und gro\u00dfz\u00fcgige Quanten- und Wasserstofftanks.\n\nWie verh\u00e4lt sich das Schiff in Bezug auf die Man\u00f6vrierf\u00e4higkeit?\nF\u00fcr seine Gr\u00f6\u00dfe ist es relativ schnell auf gerader Linie, wird aber durch die kleineren Man\u00f6vriertriebwerke gebremst, die es ihm nicht erlauben, die Geschwindigkeit bei h\u00f6heren Geschwindigkeiten besonders gut zu \u00e4ndern.\n\nHat der Cutter einen Andockkragen?\nEr hat keinen Andockkragen.\n\nKannst du dir vorstellen, dass der Cutter als Snub oder Stauer f\u00fcr Schiffe eingesetzt wird, in die er passt, so wie die Pisces f\u00fcr die Carrack?\nDer Cutter ist wahrscheinlich zu gro\u00df, um in dieser Kategorie f\u00fcr etwas anderes als die gr\u00f6\u00dften unserer Schiffe verwendet zu werden, wo er sicherlich die Rolle eines Runabouts \u00fcbernehmen k\u00f6nnte. Er ist allerdings viel gr\u00f6\u00dfer und schwerer als unsere typischen Runabouts und wird daher etwas langsamer und teurer im Treibstoffverbrauch sein. Allerdings hat es den Vorteil, dass es mehr als nur Menschen transportieren kann.\n\nIn welche Schiffe passt der Cutter?\nZurzeit nur in den 890 Jump. Er ist jedoch als XS-Schiff (Gr\u00f6\u00dfe 2) klassifiziert, so dass alle zuk\u00fcnftigen Schiffe mit dieser Hangargr\u00f6\u00dfe ihn aufnehmen k\u00f6nnen.\n\nKann der Cutter auch Landfahrzeuge transportieren?\nDas war bei der Entwicklung nicht vorgesehen und wird daher offiziell nicht unterst\u00fctzt. Du wirst jedoch feststellen, dass einige unserer kleineren Fahrzeuge wie der Drake Mule und der Greycat STV darauf passen.\n\nIst das Cockpit vom Frachtraum getrennt, um eine Entl\u00fcftung zu verhindern, oder gilt das alles als ein Bereich f\u00fcr die Lebenserhaltung?\nDer Cutter ist in drei Bereiche unterteilt: das Cockpit, den Frachtraum und das Heck. Die Toilette wird als Teil des Laderaums betrachtet, also warne alle anderen an Bord.\n\nWie sind die Lebensbedingungen auf dem Cutter beschaffen?\nN\u00fcchtern ist wohl die sch\u00f6nste Umschreibung: Du hast ein Bett mit einer eigenen Leselampe und ein Badezimmermodul. Au\u00dferdem gibt es ein kleines Regal zum Abstellen von Dingen und einen pers\u00f6nlichen Stauraum.\n\nWelche Waffen k\u00f6nnen im Waffenschrank verstaut werden?\nIm Waffenschrank ist Platz f\u00fcr zwei Pistolen, eine Langwaffe (z. B. Gewehr, Schrotflinte oder LMG), eine Spezialwaffe (z. B. Raketenwerfer oder Railgun) und ein MultiTool.\n\nWelchen Platz nimmt der Cutter im Gesamtgef\u00fcge ein?\nDer Cutter steht in der Kampfrangliste ziemlich weit unten; er ist kein kampforientiertes Schiff, und seine Ausr\u00fcstung spiegelt das wider. Gegen kampforientierte Schiffe wie den Arrow oder den Gladius wird er es schwer haben, aber gegen die anderen Startschiffe kann er sich gut behaupten.\n\nWie verh\u00e4lt sich die Signatur des Kutters im Vergleich zu anderen Startschiffen, wenn er gescannt wird?\nEr hat einen etwas gr\u00f6\u00dferen Querschnitt als die meisten anderen Startschiffe, weil er einfach gr\u00f6\u00dfer ist, aber die IR- und EM-Signatur wird sehr \u00e4hnlich sein, da er die gleiche Gr\u00f6\u00dfe und die gleiche Vielfalt an Komponenten hat.\n\nKann die Au\u00dfenbeleuchtung vom Piloten gesteuert werden?\nNur der Hauptscheinwerfer wird manuell gesteuert. Die Au\u00dfenbeleuchtung wird durch den Energiestatus des Schiffes ausgel\u00f6st.\n\nK\u00f6nnen die Raketent\u00fcren ge\u00f6ffnet werden, wenn der Cutter gelandet ist?\nJa, aber wir empfehlen, w\u00e4hrend der Landung keine Raketen zu starten...\n\nHaftungsausschluss\nDie Antworten spiegeln die Absichten der Entwickler zum Zeitpunkt der Erstellung dieses Artikels wider. Das Unternehmen und das Entwicklungsteam behalten sich jedoch das Recht vor, Funktionen und Schiffsdesigns als Reaktion auf Feedback, Spieltests, Design\u00fcberarbeitungen oder andere \u00dcberlegungen zur Verbesserung der Balance oder der Qualit\u00e4t des Spiels insgesamt anzupassen, zu verbessern oder zu \u00e4ndern.","zh_CN":"Drake Cutter Q&A\nNow that the Drake Cutter has been added to the 'verse, we posed a few questions to the vehicle team about the new, versatile starter ship. Here are the answers, straight from the designers themselves.\n\n1. How does the Cutter's armor compare to other ships in its class?\nCompared to other ships in its class, the Cutter is relatively tanky to offset its lower-than-average shields. This is achieved partly via its armor and partly by the base structure being stronger.\n\n2. What advantages and disadvantages does this ship have versus the other starters in its class?\nAside from the slight armor advantage mentioned earlier, the Cutter has a full interior, a healthy four SCU of cargo, and generous quantum and hydrogen fuel tanks.\n\n3. How does this ship handle, maneuverability-wise?\nFor its size, it\u2019s relatively fast in a straight line but is let down by the smaller maneuvering thrusters, which don\u2019t allow it to change velocity at higher speeds particularly well.\n\n4. Does the Cutter have any docking collars?\nIt does not have a docking collar.\n\n1. Do you see the Cutter being used as a snub or stevedore for ships it fits within, in the way the Pisces serves the Carrack?\nThe Cutter is probably too big of a ship to find much use in this category for anything but the largest of our ships, where it could certainly fill the role of a runabout. It\u2019s a much larger and heavier ship than our more typical runabouts though, so it\u2019s going to be quite a bit slower and more costly to fuel. However, it does have the advantage of being able to carry more than just people.\n\n2. What ships will the Cutter fit inside?\nAt present, just the 890 Jump. However, it\u2019s classified as an XS (Size 2) ship, so any future ships with that hangar size will accommodate it.\n\n3. Can the Cutter carry any land vehicles?\nThis wasn\u2019t a requirement of its design and, as such, none are officially supported. However, you\u2019ll find that a few of our smaller vehicles currently fit, such as the Drake Mule and Greycat STV.\n\n1. Is the cockpit separated from the cargo area to prevent venting, or is this all considered one area for the purposes of life support?\nThe Cutter is split into three areas: the cockpit, hab, and rear. The toilet is considered part of the hab for this purpose, so warn anyone else aboard.\n\n2. What are the Cutter\u2019s living amenities like?\nBarebones is probably the nicest way to put it: you\u2019ve got a bed with your very own reading light and a bathroom module. There\u2019s also a little bit of shelving space to put things on and a personal storage locker.\n\n3. What weapons can the weapon locker fit?\nThe weapon locker has room for two pistols, one longarm (such as rifle, shotgun, or LMG), one special weapon (such as a rocket launcher or railgun), and a MultiTool.\n\n1. Combat-wise, where is the Cutter supposed to fit in the overall scheme of things?\nThe Cutter is quite low in the combat rankings; it\u2019s not a combat-focused ship by any metric and its loadout reflects that. It\u2019ll have difficulties against anything combat-focused, such as an Arrow or Gladius, but will hold its own against the other starter ships.\n\n2. How does the signature of the Cutter compare to other starter ships when being scanned?\nIt has a slightly larger cross-section than most of the other starter ships due to just being bigger, but the IR and EM will be very similar as it has the same size and variety of components.\n\n3. Can the external lighting be controlled by the pilot?\nOnly the main headlight is controlled manually. The external lighting is triggered by the power state of the ship.\n\n4. Do the missile doors have clearance to open when the Cutter is landed?\nThey do, but we\u2019d recommend not attempting to launch missiles whilst landed\u2026\n\n1. Why does the Cutter Scout make an excellent starter ship?\nThe Scout is built off the Cutter, which is an excellent starter ship by itself, so all the same benefits apply, including onboard habitation and high quantum-fuel capacity.\n\n2. What advantages and disadvantages does the Cutter Scout have in comparison to the standard Cutter?\nCompared to the base Cutter, the big standout is better object detection at greater distances. The trade-off for the larger radar and necessary supporting components is the reduction of cargo capacity from 4 SCU to 2 SCU.\n\n3. How does the Cutter Scout compare against other scout ships like the Terrapin?\nCompared to the Terrapin, the Scout functions quite well in the current game, packing the same-sized radar item, allowing it to have equal scanning capabilities. Ultimately though, it is more fragile than the Terrapin, so not suited to long-duration expeditions in hostile environments.\n\n4. Is the Cutter Scout a multi-role scouting vessel, like the Freelancer DUR and Constellation Aquila, or a single-purposed scout ship, like the Terrapin?\nIt somewhat straddles the boundary between each. The Terrapin has extra armor to allow it to stay out for longer and travel further into hostile environments, while the Freelancer DUR and Constellation Aquila have greater onboard living capacity.\n\n1. Gameplay-wise, where is the Cutter Rambler supposed to fit in the overall scheme of things?\nThe Rambler is the final of the three original Cutter variants that were planned when the ship was designed and pushes the long-distance-exploration aspect of the series.\n\n2. What advantages does the Cutter Rambler have over the base Cutter and Scout?\nPurely from a numbers side, the Rambler has by far the biggest range, featuring more hydrogen and quantum fuel via additional fuel tanks. In addition to that, the Rambler has a much larger habitation area. This includes a large storage space for weapons, suit lockers, and a food processor to allow the player to stay out in the \u2018verse for longer.\n\n3. How does the Cutter Rambler compare to its competitors? For example, the Origin 100i, the Anvil C8X Pisces, and the Consolidated Outland Mustang Beta?\nThe Rambler\u2019s larger fuel tanks and more comfortable living space are designed to help the ship stay out there for longer and go further. Although it might not feature technology like the 100i's AIR system, its larger tanks give it plenty of staying power.\n\n4. The Cutter Rambler comes factory-equipped with a food processor. Are there any additional supplies that come with the Rambler, such as drinks or medical supplies?\nAlthough the Rambler features plenty of space to store supplies for exploring the \u2018verse, it does not come fitted with any of these as standard. It will be down to the player to gather supplies and make choices about what to bring with them.\n\nDISCLAIMERThe answers accurately reflect development\u2019s intentions at the time of writing, but the company and development team reserve the right to adapt, improve, or change feature and ship designs in response to feedback, playtesting, design revisions, or other considerations to improve balance or the quality of the game overall.","fr_FR":"Drake Cutter Q&A\nNow that the Drake Cutter has been added to the 'verse, we posed a few questions to the vehicle team about the new, versatile starter ship. Here are the answers, straight from the designers themselves.\n\n1. How does the Cutter's armor compare to other ships in its class?\nCompared to other ships in its class, the Cutter is relatively tanky to offset its lower-than-average shields. This is achieved partly via its armor and partly by the base structure being stronger.\n\n2. What advantages and disadvantages does this ship have versus the other starters in its class?\nAside from the slight armor advantage mentioned earlier, the Cutter has a full interior, a healthy four SCU of cargo, and generous quantum and hydrogen fuel tanks.\n\n3. How does this ship handle, maneuverability-wise?\nFor its size, it\u2019s relatively fast in a straight line but is let down by the smaller maneuvering thrusters, which don\u2019t allow it to change velocity at higher speeds particularly well.\n\n4. Does the Cutter have any docking collars?\nIt does not have a docking collar.\n\n1. Do you see the Cutter being used as a snub or stevedore for ships it fits within, in the way the Pisces serves the Carrack?\nThe Cutter is probably too big of a ship to find much use in this category for anything but the largest of our ships, where it could certainly fill the role of a runabout. It\u2019s a much larger and heavier ship than our more typical runabouts though, so it\u2019s going to be quite a bit slower and more costly to fuel. However, it does have the advantage of being able to carry more than just people.\n\n2. What ships will the Cutter fit inside?\nAt present, just the 890 Jump. However, it\u2019s classified as an XS (Size 2) ship, so any future ships with that hangar size will accommodate it.\n\n3. Can the Cutter carry any land vehicles?\nThis wasn\u2019t a requirement of its design and, as such, none are officially supported. However, you\u2019ll find that a few of our smaller vehicles currently fit, such as the Drake Mule and Greycat STV.\n\n1. Is the cockpit separated from the cargo area to prevent venting, or is this all considered one area for the purposes of life support?\nThe Cutter is split into three areas: the cockpit, hab, and rear. The toilet is considered part of the hab for this purpose, so warn anyone else aboard.\n\n2. What are the Cutter\u2019s living amenities like?\nBarebones is probably the nicest way to put it: you\u2019ve got a bed with your very own reading light and a bathroom module. There\u2019s also a little bit of shelving space to put things on and a personal storage locker.\n\n3. What weapons can the weapon locker fit?\nThe weapon locker has room for two pistols, one longarm (such as rifle, shotgun, or LMG), one special weapon (such as a rocket launcher or railgun), and a MultiTool.\n\n1. Combat-wise, where is the Cutter supposed to fit in the overall scheme of things?\nThe Cutter is quite low in the combat rankings; it\u2019s not a combat-focused ship by any metric and its loadout reflects that. It\u2019ll have difficulties against anything combat-focused, such as an Arrow or Gladius, but will hold its own against the other starter ships.\n\n2. How does the signature of the Cutter compare to other starter ships when being scanned?\nIt has a slightly larger cross-section than most of the other starter ships due to just being bigger, but the IR and EM will be very similar as it has the same size and variety of components.\n\n3. Can the external lighting be controlled by the pilot?\nOnly the main headlight is controlled manually. The external lighting is triggered by the power state of the ship.\n\n4. Do the missile doors have clearance to open when the Cutter is landed?\nThey do, but we\u2019d recommend not attempting to launch missiles whilst landed\u2026\n\n1. Why does the Cutter Scout make an excellent starter ship?\nThe Scout is built off the Cutter, which is an excellent starter ship by itself, so all the same benefits apply, including onboard habitation and high quantum-fuel capacity.\n\n2. What advantages and disadvantages does the Cutter Scout have in comparison to the standard Cutter?\nCompared to the base Cutter, the big standout is better object detection at greater distances. The trade-off for the larger radar and necessary supporting components is the reduction of cargo capacity from 4 SCU to 2 SCU.\n\n3. How does the Cutter Scout compare against other scout ships like the Terrapin?\nCompared to the Terrapin, the Scout functions quite well in the current game, packing the same-sized radar item, allowing it to have equal scanning capabilities. Ultimately though, it is more fragile than the Terrapin, so not suited to long-duration expeditions in hostile environments.\n\n4. Is the Cutter Scout a multi-role scouting vessel, like the Freelancer DUR and Constellation Aquila, or a single-purposed scout ship, like the Terrapin?\nIt somewhat straddles the boundary between each. The Terrapin has extra armor to allow it to stay out for longer and travel further into hostile environments, while the Freelancer DUR and Constellation Aquila have greater onboard living capacity.\n\n1. Gameplay-wise, where is the Cutter Rambler supposed to fit in the overall scheme of things?\nThe Rambler is the final of the three original Cutter variants that were planned when the ship was designed and pushes the long-distance-exploration aspect of the series.\n\n2. What advantages does the Cutter Rambler have over the base Cutter and Scout?\nPurely from a numbers side, the Rambler has by far the biggest range, featuring more hydrogen and quantum fuel via additional fuel tanks. In addition to that, the Rambler has a much larger habitation area. This includes a large storage space for weapons, suit lockers, and a food processor to allow the player to stay out in the \u2018verse for longer.\n\n3. How does the Cutter Rambler compare to its competitors? For example, the Origin 100i, the Anvil C8X Pisces, and the Consolidated Outland Mustang Beta?\nThe Rambler\u2019s larger fuel tanks and more comfortable living space are designed to help the ship stay out there for longer and go further. Although it might not feature technology like the 100i's AIR system, its larger tanks give it plenty of staying power.\n\n4. The Cutter Rambler comes factory-equipped with a food processor. Are there any additional supplies that come with the Rambler, such as drinks or medical supplies?\nAlthough the Rambler features plenty of space to store supplies for exploring the \u2018verse, it does not come fitted with any of these as standard. It will be down to the player to gather supplies and make choices about what to bring with them.\n\nDISCLAIMERThe answers accurately reflect development\u2019s intentions at the time of writing, but the company and development team reserve the right to adapt, improve, or change feature and ship designs in response to feedback, playtesting, design revisions, or other considerations to improve balance or the quality of the game overall."},"links_count":0,"comment_count":0,"created_at":"2026-05-25T14:00:00+00:00","created_at_human":"1 month ago"},"meta":{"processed_at":"2026-06-26 17:49:31","valid_relations":["images","links"],"prev_id":18987,"next_id":18989}}