Installing plug-ins

The Plug-ins screen

Open Plug-ins from the main menu (it is also reachable from Settings on Linux and Steam Deck). It has three tabs: Browse, Installed and Load order.

• Browse is the community catalog: search, filter chips (Popular, Recent, Total conversions, Ships, Story, Graphics, Gameplay, Installed, Updates) and a card for each plug-in with a detail page. A copy of the catalog is kept for offline browsing.
• Installed lists what you have, with enable switches, reveal and delete.
• Load order shows the order plug-ins load in (see below).

You can also browse the same catalog on the website: Plug-in catalog.

Installing from the catalog

1. Find a plug-in

   Search, or use a filter chip. Open a card for the description, author, size and screenshots.

2. Tap Install

   The app downloads the file straight from the author's own link (or the project's archive), checks it, unpacks it and puts it in your plug-ins folder. If the plug-in depends on another one, that is installed first.

3. Apply

   Changes take effect by reloading the game data, and a loading screen shows while that runs. The Apple app reloads after each change. On Linux and Steam Deck changes are batched and applied when you press Apply, leave the screen, or an install finishes.

Downloads are HTTPS only, and the app never copies or mirrors files itself. When a new version is released, the card shows an Update button.

Importing your own files

Use Import (top bar) to add plug-ins you downloaded elsewhere. NOVA Swift reads:

• Windows-style .rez and .ndat files;
• classic Mac plug-ins with a resource fork, including old .sit (StuffIt), .hqx (BinHex) and related archives, which are unpacked with the resource fork kept;
• .zip archives and plug-in folders.

The Linux and Steam Deck Import dialog is labelled for .zip, .rez, .ndat or a folder. StuffIt X (.sitx) is proprietary and is not supported. On iPhone, iPad and Apple TV, files can also come in from the Files app, the share sheet or AirDrop.

Enabling, disabling and load order

By default NOVA Swift follows the original game: every installed plug-in loads automatically, in alphabetical order, and later plug-ins override earlier ones where they define the same resource. To toggle or reorder individual plug-ins, turn on the Manual plug-in order enhancement in Settings, under Enhancements (it is off by default). Then each plug-in gets an enable switch and Up and Down buttons (or drag to reorder) on the Load order tab.

If two plug-ins fight over the same ship or system, the one lower in the order wins. Put the plug-in you care about last.

Total conversions

A total conversion (TC) replaces the whole scenario, not just a bit of it. While a TC is on, only its own plug-ins load, as in the original game. To play one:

1. Install and switch it on

   From the Plug-ins screen. Only one TC can be active, and it is the only plug-in type that can be switched on or off without Manual plug-in order.

2. Start a new pilot

   With the conversion switched on, create a new pilot so you start in its scenario.

3. Optional add-ons

   The Installed tab can show an Add-ons for list for the selected TC. Plug-ins you add there load after the conversion's own files, in the order shown. The app flags how likely each is to work with it.

HD art packs

Plug-ins can include high-resolution sprites and 3D models in an optional layer that the original game ignores. It is shipped as a .nsx folder (with a manifest.json), or embedded in the plug-in file. Gameplay, hit boxes and frame counts never change.

• HD art is off by default. Turn it on in Settings, under Graphics, as HD graphics from plug-ins. If HD art turns up while it is off, the game asks once if you want to enable it.
• Put a .nsx folder inside the plug-in's folder, or loose in your plug-ins folder for a standalone pack. It is found up to four folders deep, and a pack inside a plug-in turns on and off with that plug-in.
• HD art and 3D models are currently an Apple-platform feature. Anything not ready draws the classic sprite.

Plug-ins in multiplayer

Players in a game must have the same gameplay plug-ins, matched by content hash. Plug-ins that only change art, sound, music, movies, fonts or text are cosmetic and never block a join. A plug-in that mixes both counts as gameplay.

If a server needs plug-ins you do not have, Linux and Steam Deck offer Install & Join when they are all in the catalog. Otherwise the join screen lists what to install, update or disable. Details are in Join & host games.

Where the files live

Imports and downloads go to a plug-ins folder inside the app's own data folder. On Linux and Steam Deck the data folder is below, with plug-ins in its Plug-ins subfolder.

~/.local/share/NovaSwift/Plug-ins        # or $XDG_DATA_HOME/NovaSwift/Plug-ins

%APPDATA%\NovaSwift\Plug-ins

Suggest a plug-in for the catalog

The catalog is a list in a public GitHub repo, SirStig/NovaSwift-Plugins. The app reads its catalog.json. There are no plug-in files in the repo; each entry points at a public download. Rules:

• Link to a public, direct download. The link must open the file itself (.zip, .rez, .ndat, or a classic .sit, .hqx, .sea or .bin), not a web page with a button, and nothing behind a login, captcha or click-through. HTTPS only.
• Do not rehost without the author's permission. That includes icons and screenshots.
• No EV Nova base data and no art taken from it. Plug-ins that need the base game are fine.
• Self-hosted copies are rare. The project only hosts a copy (marked rehosted) when the author's own readme says it may be redistributed, and the entry must quote those words.

To add one, fork the repo, add an entry to catalog.json, run python3 scripts/validate.py, and open a pull request. Not comfortable with JSON? Open a "Plug-in request" issue instead. The field list is in Making a plug-in. Authors can ask for an entry to be removed or corrected at any time.