Compatibility matrix¶
The authoritative, always-current numbers are on the generated compatibility page. For the difference between "not yet" and "not planned", see What Nova supports. This page is the human summary: which systems work, which are partial, and what to do about the gaps.
Systems¶
| System | Status | What to expect |
|---|---|---|
| Core DataModel and Instances | Supported | Services, parenting, attributes, tags, property-change signals. |
| Luau scripting | Supported | Luau VM, task, typeof, bit32, utf8, modern syntax. |
| File formats | Supported | XML and modern binary .rbxl/.rbxm, Int64, SharedString, zstd, meshes v1–v5. |
| Rendering | Supported | GL3 renderer, shaders, post effects, MeshParts, CSG unions. |
| Lighting and post effects | Partial | Lighting/Sky/post effects work; Atmosphere and Clouds do not. |
| GUI | Partial | Core GUI works; the layout/modifier family is missing. |
| Physics | Partial | PGS solver and many constraints; some movers and the modern raycast API are missing. |
| Animation and avatars | Partial | R6 and classic R15 rigs, Animator, keyframes; no skinning or HumanoidDescription. |
| Audio | Supported | 3D sound, groups, and the 2022 DSP effect set. |
| Networking | Supported | Filtering, remotes, replication, server authority. |
| Data persistence | Supported | DataStore/GlobalDataStore/OrderedDataStore through the official platform's persistence. |
| Economy and marketplace | Partial | Prompts, product info, ownership, ProcessReceipt; newer commerce APIs are absent. |
| Teleport and reserved servers | Supported | Place instances, reserved servers, teleport data. |
| Assets and content | Supported | Asset proxy, modern IDs, meshes, images, sounds, CSG. |
| HTTP | Supported | HttpService JSON and request methods. |
| Chat | Partial | Legacy chat and bubble chat; TextChatService is absent. |
| Localization | Missing | No LocalizationService/LocalizationTable. |
| Studio | Supported | Open/edit/play/publish, toolbox, asset import. |
| Plugins | Partial | Core plugin surface; modern plugin APIs and distribution are limited. |
| Virtual Version | Supported | 2012–2016 era skins (Nova-specific). |
| VR, video, voice | Missing | No backend. |
| Cloud / Open Cloud | Missing | Not available to game scripts. |
| Web client | Supported | WebAssembly build served by the official platform. |
| Android | Partial | Builds, but not at desktop feature parity. |
The gaps that break the most places¶
1. Modern UI layout¶
Missing: UIListLayout, UIGridLayout, UITableLayout, UIPadding, UIScale,
UICorner, UIGradient, UIStroke, CanvasGroup, UIAspectRatioConstraint,
UISizeConstraint, UITextSizeConstraint, ViewportFrame.
Why it matters: nearly every modern interface uses at least one of these. A place that relies on automatic layout will look wrong until the layout is replaced.
Workaround: a manual layout pass. See Build a UI without UIListLayout.
2. Modern spatial queries¶
Missing: WorldRoot, RaycastParams, RaycastResult, OverlapParams, and the
Workspace:Raycast / GetPartBoundsInBox / GetPartsInPart family.
Workaround: Workspace:FindPartOnRayWithIgnoreList and
Workspace:FindPartsInRegion3WithIgnoreList. See Physics.
3. Avatar rendering¶
Missing: Bone, WrapLayer, WrapTarget, SurfaceAppearance,
HumanoidDescription, and skeletal skinning.
Workaround: classic body parts, clothing assets, and baked textures. See Animation and avatars.
4. Chat and localization¶
Missing: TextChatService and its configuration classes; LocalizationService
and LocalizationTable.
Workaround: legacy chat/bubble chat and a string module (or per-locale places). See Scripting and the TextChatService page.
5. Platform services¶
Missing: VRService, VideoFrame, VideoService, VoiceChatService,
PolicyService, Open Cloud, packages, EditableImage, EditableMesh.
These have no Nova backend. A place that depends on them needs a design change, not an API shim.
Classes that exist but are partial¶
A class can be Supported and still miss members. The reference page for each class lists them under Modern Roblox API not in Nova. The generated compatibility page ranks them by gap size. The largest are usually platform services and Studio APIs, not gameplay classes.
Common partials worth checking:
MarketplaceService— core purchase flow yes; newer commerce APIs no.DataStoreService— core persistence yes; request budgets and option objects no.Players/Player— lifecycle and appearance yes; some platform APIs no.Terrain— voxel terrain yes; newer material variants limited.Animator/AnimationTrack— keyframes yes; skinning no.Sound— modern playback and effects yes; some newer audio classes no.
How this page is kept honest¶
The generator compares:
- Nova's client API dump (
nova-api.txt), and - the current Roblox API dump.
Presence is mechanical. The judgement calls (does a present class actually
behave?) live in data/compat.yaml.
If you find a status that is wrong, edit that file and open a pull request; do
not edit the generated pages.