Questions and answers.

A new engine for EV Nova, the 2002 space trading and combat game by Ambrosia Software. It was written from a reverse-engineered reading of the original executable, so it plays like the original. It is not an emulator or a wrapper, and it's free and open source.

That's the goal. Every portable function of the original was compared and matched, and original behaviour is the default. Anything that changes the rules is an Enhancement you turn on yourself. If something plays differently, it's a bug: report it.

No. It's a fan preservation project and isn't endorsed by either.

EV Nova's ships, graphics, sounds and story belong to their owners. NOVA Swift ships none of it and never will. It reads a copy you have, the way OpenMW and OpenRA work.

EV Nova isn't sold anywhere today. The community keeps the original releases available; the easiest source for the data is the Windows build's zip from andrews05's EV archive. Unzip it and point the setup wizard at the folder. More options are in GET_THE_DATA.md.

Yes. Windows pilot files import straight into the game; classic Mac pilots are in testing. See Getting started.

macOS, iPhone, iPad and Apple TV through TestFlight. Linux, Steam Deck and Windows as beta downloads. See Download.

The Linux build runs on the Deck, with full controller support. Add it to Steam as a non-Steam game for Game Mode. It's a new beta, so please report anything odd. See the Steam Deck guide.

Yes. The Siri Remote can't fly a ship, so Apple TV needs an extended game controller (Xbox, PlayStation or MFi). Everything else on Apple devices works with touch, mouse, keyboard or a controller.

Not at the moment. Apple builds go out through TestFlight and desktop builds through GitHub Releases.

No. Multiplayer is an overlay: you keep playing your own save, and only the systems you share with other pilots sync. Story progress you earn together is added to your save, never removed.

Yes. The Apple app can join servers and desktop hosts by address or from the server list, and can host games that desktop players join. See cross-play.

No. Apple players use Game Center, which Apple runs. Desktop players can host from the game, use a free community server, or run the free dedicated server on any spare machine.

Yes. Everyone needs the same gameplay plug-ins; art and sound plug-ins are optional. The game tells you what's missing, and catalog plug-ins install in one step. See the multiplayer guide.

They're meant to. NOVA Swift reads the original formats, including old Mac .sit and .hqx archives. If one misbehaves, report it with the plug-in's name.

Plug-ins saved from the editor as .rez or classic files load in the original. HD art is an extra layer that the original ignores.

Open Settings, Support, Report a Bug (on Linux and Steam Deck: Settings, Data & Advanced, Report a Bug). It builds a diagnostics bundle (your pilot, a log and a self-test) to attach to a GitHub issue. That's far more useful than a screenshot.

Point it at the folder that holds the game's data files: the unzipped Windows folder with its .rez files, or a Mac Nova Files folder. See Adding your data.

Install ffmpeg from your distribution's package manager. The movies are optional.

TestFlight updates the Apple app. The desktop build checks GitHub for updates in Settings, Data & Advanced.