Anvil Carrack: Exploration, Expeditions and Life Aboard
From its classified naval origins to the crew quarters, Pisces hangar and cartography deck, a detailed look at Anvil's Carrack and its exploration role.
In 2815, the UEE Navy lost the cruiser Carraway with all hands while it investigated unusual transmissions in a Tohil asteroid field. In Star Citizen’s official history, the disaster prompted a secret contract with Anvil Aerospace for a dedicated exploration vessel. That vessel became the Carrack.
The naval brief survives in the layout. An armoury sits below the living quarters, a medical facility shares the habitation deck, and a shuttle hangar occupies the deck above. Higher still is a room devoted to cartography. The Carrack was designed to carry a crew through long periods of surveying, with accommodation and support facilities aboard the same hull.
Flight readyAlpha 4.10.2 LIVE
From classified project to civilian explorer
The Carrack’s origins in the UEE Navy are part of its in-universe history.
The Carrack appeared at MacArthur Naval Base in 2822 under such secrecy that observers suspected a disguised weapon. It was an explorer, subsequently employed to survey moons, comets, asteroid fields and jump points.
Civilian interest followed, but authorisation for a civilian version did not come until 2933. Anvil had to rewrite the sensor software and build the ships separately from military hulls. The first civilian Carrack, later named Sonny Boy, was handed over on 21 February 2938.
Building the Carrack for the game
The 2014 concept
CIG unveiled the Carrack in November 2014 with a design centred on long-distance exploration. Reinforced fuel tanks, a specialised jump-drive arrangement and a dedicated computer core were intended to support route charting. Medical and repair facilities were part of the proposal from the start. Exploration was expected to involve a crew maintaining its ship while gathering information far from established services.
The 2020 ship
The flyable Carrack arrived in February 2020 with its accommodation, vehicle bays and specialised workrooms in place. Development continued after launch: Alpha 4.0 brought external cargo access and an operable blast shield, while Alpha 4.8 added hangar servicing. Several specialist rooms were delivered ahead of their intended gameplay.
Life aboard, from the garage to the bridge
The lower decks contain the vehicles and cargo. Above them, the ship opens into accommodation, command spaces and technical rooms.
Habitation deck
Billets and the captain’s cabin
Most of the crew sleep in shared billets with stacked bunks, storage, bathrooms and showers. The captain has a separate cabin on the approach to the bridge. CIG’s original tour shows bookshelves and a concealed television inside it, a little more privacy and comfort than the berths provided for the rest of the crew.
Mess and recreation
The mess and recreation space
A central table and galley equipment fill the mess, with seats for the crew to eat together. Nearby stands a six-sided billiards table. Among the Carrack’s machinery and military fittings, it is an unexpectedly elaborate provision for time off duty.
The living quarters, medical suite and lower bridge share the habitation deck. A crew member leaving a flight station can reach a bunk or the mess without passing through the cargo compartments below. The ship has enough room to separate those domestic spaces from the garage, hangar and engineering areas.
Command spaces
A bridge built around several stations
The bridge occupies the forward ends of the habitation and technical decks. Below are the flight seats; above are further stations, including the remote-gunner position and an alternative piloting position. The tall canopy makes the separation visible from both levels. Engineering repeats that vertical arrangement at the stern, with components accessible across two decks. Between these ends lie the hangar, repair room and drone facilities.
Official interior tour
See how the decks connect
Watch CIG’s Carrack tour from 5:27, or join the habitation section at 6:36. Recorded in February 2020, the tour follows the route from the garage through the accommodation and technical spaces to the cartography deck. It also explains which functions were still planned at launch.
The Pisces above, the Ursa below
The Carrack has separate spaces for its shuttle and rover, allowing it to carry both.
Dorsal hangar
The Pisces and its mothership
The Pisces was designed around its relationship with the Carrack. It can scout ahead or reach places where taking the larger hull would be impractical, then return to the hangar on the technical deck. That lets a few crew members leave by air without relocating the entire expedition ship. The garage remains available for the rover throughout.
The C8 and C8X have no bed or toilet. CIG’s Pisces Q&A explains why: the crew was expected to return to the mothership after shorter outings than a self-contained explorer such as the 315p would undertake. The C8X adds guns to that shuttle role; the C8R is the separate medical version.
Vehicle garage
The surface connection
The Ursa enters through the ramp at the Carrack’s nose. Beyond the garage, the lower deck continues through the docking-collar area and cargo pods towards the armoury, where suit lockers and weapon racks provide storage for a landing party’s equipment.
Once the Carrack has landed, the Ursa can take a party farther over the surface. The Pisces can depart while the larger ship stays elsewhere. A group can therefore make shorter journeys by ground or air without relocating the Carrack each time, and without choosing between carrying a rover and carrying a shuttle.
Cargo, servicing and the medical bay
Cargo supports both freight work and the supplies used aboard the ship.
Beneath the Carrack are three cargo pods with a combined published capacity of 456 SCU. They are a substantial part of the silhouette, suspended below the main body rather than hidden in a single conventional hold. The ship has room to carry freight alongside the supplies consumed by its medical and servicing facilities.
Airlocks divide the internal route through the three pods. Each compartment forms part of a hull originally intended to carry detachable cargo sections. In the delivered ship, the pods remain attached; the later door update provides access from outside.
The cargo-door update
Alpha 4.0 added controls to open the cargo pods externally while they remain raised beside the hull. Cargo can be loaded from outside instead of relying entirely on the route through the ship’s interior.
The published 456 SCU capacity makes the Carrack useful for freight as well as carrying expedition supplies. Detachable pods and replacement mission modules remain unconfirmed for Alpha 4.10.2 LIVE; the external doors do not provide those functions.
Servicing the shuttle aboard
Alpha 4.8 gave the hangar a further role. CIG lists the Carrack among the ships able to repair, rearm and refuel a craft in a supported bay. Services consume resources on the host’s cargo grid: RMC for repairs, the relevant fuel, and ammunition or missiles for rearming. The receiving pilot requests them while seated in the landed craft.
A Pisces can return for fuel, repairs and ammunition before another flight, drawing on the stock carried by its parent ship. That stock takes up cargo space and runs down with use. Our ship hangar services guide covers the service interface and the resources each service consumes.
Habitation deck
Medical care without returning to a station
The Carrack’s Tier 2 medical bed treats minor and moderate injuries. It can stabilise severe injuries, although full treatment requires a Tier 1 facility or hospital. It also supports regeneration within the documented Tier 2 range of 8,000 kilometres, provided the player has set an imprint and the bed is functioning with sufficient MedGel.
A landing party can bring an injured crew member back for treatment without first reaching a station. With a valid regeneration point, a death can also return the player to the Carrack. Their equipment remains with the body and must still be recovered.
Cartography, drones and the exploration brief
The cartography deck and drone room show how much of the design was devoted to surveying.
The cartography room occupies the top of the ship. In the 2020 tour, CIG described a future system display for plotting routes in greater detail. Below it, the drone room has operator positions and a deployment arrangement for remote work outside the hull. These spaces were built into the Carrack around the proposed exploration systems.
Dedicated exploration drones, bespoke cartography gameplay, interchangeable pods and the proposed component workshop have not been confirmed as released features for Alpha 4.10.2 LIVE. They remain reasons to follow the ship’s development, rather than capabilities to base a purchase on today. The hangar services described above are a separate, documented system.
Who the Carrack suits today
The Carrack is a strong fit for a group that wants to travel together aboard one ship, take a Pisces or Ursa out from it, and return for medical care or shuttle servicing. Its hold also gives that group a way to carry freight between excursions. Those activities use the ship’s existing facilities, so a crew can use them without relying on the specialist exploration systems.
The compromise for a solo pilot
A lone pilot can move the Carrack, but its armament sits in three manned turrets and one remote turret. Defending it calls for people at those stations, and a pilot cannot simultaneously fly the Pisces and remain aboard the parent ship. CIG’s listed complement is six. A smaller group can use the ship, with fewer stations occupied; someone who usually flies alone is taking on a large interior and crew-dependent weapons for facilities they may seldom use.
Accommodation is another reason to compare before choosing. The Carrack’s shared billets and working spaces suit a crew using the ship together. For a closer look at Origin’s alternative, our Carrack versus 600i Explorer comparison examines the differences in living spaces and layout.
Choosing a Carrack
Once the Carrack fits the way you want to play, choose the hull finish, accompanying Pisces and purchase route.
Standard or Expedition
The standard Carrack and Carrack Expedition share the exploration role and interior. The Expedition is a special livery edition, so choose it for its appearance. It does not add rooms, cargo capacity or a more capable exploration suite.
Which Pisces accompanies it?
CIG lists a C8 Pisces and Ursa with the standard Carrack and Carrack Expedition. An offer explicitly labelled “with C8X” supplies the more heavily armed Pisces instead. The Expedition hull name alone does not make that change. These parent-linked craft currently use CIG’s loaner system and may not appear as separate pledges in the web hangar.
Adding a complete Carrack
If you want to keep your existing ships and add a Carrack, choose a completed ship offer. Our Carrack Standalone Ship is a completed CCU’ed pledge: the upgrades have already been applied, so you do not need to supply a starting ship. Compare the insurance and listed inclusions for the option you select. A standalone ship is not a game-access package.
Upgrading a ship you already own
If you want the Carrack to replace a ship in your hangar, the Upgrade to Carrack listing offers CCUs from specific starting models. The selected “Upgrade from” model must match your existing ship. Applying the CCU changes that ship into the Carrack; it does not add a second vessel. Check the upgrade’s own contents rather than assuming it includes the extras of a standalone offer.
Frequently asked questions
Ship facilities, current systems and the differences between Carrack offers.
Can I enjoy a Carrack on my own?
The Carrack can be flown alone, but its guns are in crew-operated turrets and its facilities are spread across several decks. Solo flying leaves much of that equipment without an operator. It is a more natural choice for shared-ship play than for someone seeking a compact personal explorer.
Do I need a crew of six?
Six is CIG’s listed complement, not a requirement to launch. A smaller group can fly the ship, with fewer people available for its turrets, shuttle and other jobs.
Which exploration systems can I rely on?
You can use the hangar, garage, cargo space and medical bay, with accommodation for the crew. Specialist exploration drones, bespoke cartography gameplay and replacement mission pods have not been confirmed as released systems for Alpha 4.10.2 LIVE. Treat those as development plans when deciding whether to buy.
Does the Carrack include a Pisces and an Ursa?
CIG lists a C8 Pisces and Ursa for the standard Carrack and Expedition. Explicit “with C8X” versions receive a C8X instead. These parent-linked vehicles currently use CIG’s loaner system, so they may be available in-game without appearing as separate pledge items.
Is the C8X the medical Pisces?
No. The C8X is the more heavily armed Pisces Expedition. The medical model is the C8R, which is a different variant.
Can the Carrack medical bed treat every injury?
No. The Tier 2 bed treats minor and moderate injuries and stabilises severe ones. Severe injuries need a Tier 1 facility or hospital for full treatment.
Can I regenerate aboard the Carrack?
Yes, with an imprint set to the bed, enough MedGel and a functioning bed within range. CIG lists 8,000 kilometres for Tier 2 regeneration. Equipment stays with the body.
Can the hangar repair, refuel and rearm the Pisces?
CIG includes the Carrack among the supported hosts for hangar services introduced in Alpha 4.8. The services need appropriate cargo-grid resources, and the receiving pilot must be aboard the landed craft.
Can I detach or replace the cargo pods?
The Alpha 4.0 doors give access to the cargo while the pods remain attached. Detachment and replacement mission modules are not confirmed as released for Alpha 4.10.2 LIVE.
Where are the crew quarters?
The shared berths, mess, recreation space and medical suite are on the habitation deck. The captain’s cabin is on the approach to the bridge.
Is the Carrack Expedition more capable?
The Expedition is a livery edition. Its name does not confer extra exploration systems or automatically include a C8X Pisces.
Can the Carrack repair and refuel itself?
The hangar services described here repair, rearm and refuel the visiting craft, not the Carrack itself. They also do not implement the component workshop proposed for its repair room.
Compare Carrack ships and upgrades
Choose a complete ship to add to your hangar, or a compatible CCU to replace an existing ship. The collection also includes Expedition and C8X offers.
Check the selected offer’s insurance, included craft and other contents before ordering. Availability varies by option.