Compatibility¶
Nova is a 2016-engine-based platform with active modern-API backports. The tables below are generated from the API dumps; feature-level notes come from the curated data/compat.yaml file.
Not yet means a work item. Not planned means an intentional non-goal — see What Nova supports. Legacy Roblox features are never deprecated.
Headline numbers¶
| Metric | Value |
|---|---|
| Nova scriptable classes | 365 |
| Current Roblox classes | 924 |
| Roblox classes implemented in Nova | 340 |
| Roblox classes not yet in Nova | 579 |
| Roblox classes not planned | 5 |
| Nova-only classes | 25 |
Systems¶
| System | Status | Summary | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| Core DataModel and Instances | Supported | Full Instance tree, services, attributes, tags, and property change signals. | The 2016 DataModel with modern Instance methods backported. |
| Luau scripting | Supported | Luau VM with task, typeof, bit32, utf8, compound assignment, continue, and type syntax. | Some Lua 5.1-era limits remain in stock CoreScripts; general Luau syntax is supported. |
| File formats | Supported | XML and modern binary .rbxl/.rbxm, zstd chunks, Int64, SharedString, mesh v1-v5. | META chunk writing is not implemented; v4/v5 mesh skinning is parsed but not rendered. |
| Rendering | Supported | GL3 core renderer, shader packs, modern lighting, post effects, MeshParts, CSG unions. | Some 2020+ visual features need the material/UI backports listed below. |
| Lighting and post effects | Partial | Lighting, Sky, and the post-effect family are supported. | Atmosphere and Clouds are not implemented. |
| GUI | Partial | Core GUI classes, anchors, resizing, text, images, and input are supported. | The modern layout/modifier family (UIListLayout, UICorner, UIGradient, UIStroke, ...) is the largest user-visible gap. |
| Physics | Partial | Legacy PGS solver with modern solver selection and many constraint classes. | Some mover/constraint classes (Prismatic, Cylindrical, Universal, Plane) and modern raycast APIs are missing. |
| Animation and avatar | Partial | R6 characters, Animator, AnimationTrack, keyframe sequences, and legacy avatar loading. | Bone/skinning, WrapLayer, SurfaceAppearance, and HumanoidDescription are not implemented. |
| Audio | Supported | Sound, SoundGroup, 3D rolloff, and the 2022 DSP effect set. | Equalizer, Distortion, Tremolo, Chorus, Flange, and Compressor effects are live. |
| Networking | Supported | Client-server replication, FilteringEnabled, RemoteEvent, RemoteFunction, and signals. | The server remains authoritative; modern network ownership behavior is emulated where possible. |
| Data persistence | Supported | DataStoreService, GlobalDataStore, OrderedDataStore, and UpdateAsync through the official platform's persistence. | Request budgets and some newer DataStore options are absent; the core Get/Set/Update/Increment surface works. |
| Economy and marketplace | Partial | MarketplaceService prompts, product info, ownership checks, and ProcessReceipt. | Developer-product and game-pass flows depend on the platform economy backend; newer commerce classes are missing. |
| Teleport and reserved servers | Supported | TeleportService, place instances, reserved servers, and join data. | Backed by the official platform's place launcher and server orchestration. |
| Assets and content | Supported | Asset delivery, modern asset IDs, meshes, images, sounds, and CSG solid models. | Asset URLs resolve through the official platform's asset proxy; marketplace/plugin asset classes are still limited. |
| HTTP | Supported | HttpService JSON, URL encoding, GetAsync, and PostAsync. | HttpEnabled is a LocalUserSecurity property; game servers may need it enabled by the host. |
| Chat | Partial | Legacy chat and bubble chat are supported. | The 2022 TextChatService family is not implemented. |
| Localization | Not yet | LocalizationService and LocalizationTable are not implemented. | Hard-code strings or ship per-locale places until the localization backend lands. |
| Studio | Supported | NovaStudio can open, edit, play-test, and publish places; the toolbox and asset import work. | Some modern Studio plugin APIs are still missing. |
| Plugins | Partial | Core Studio plugin surface exists. | Modern plugin APIs and marketplace plugin distribution are limited. |
| Virtual Version | Supported | Nova-specific era skin for 2012-2016 CoreGui and asset flavor. | Era is presentation only; it never gates engine features or API availability. |
| VR, video, and voice | Not yet | VRService, VideoFrame, VideoService, and VoiceChatService are not implemented. | These platform services have no Nova backend. |
| Cloud and Open Cloud | Not yet | Open Cloud and web-only platform services are not available to game scripts. | Use the platform HTTP API from a trusted server instead. |
| Web client | Supported | The client builds to WebAssembly and runs in the browser on the official platform. | Requires COOP/COEP headers and the arbiter WebSocket bridge. |
| Android | Partial | The Android shell builds with a modern Gradle/NDK toolchain. | The client target is not yet at feature parity with desktop. |
Supported classes with the largest gaps¶
These classes exist in Nova but are missing the most members from the current Roblox API. They are the highest-value backport targets for games that use them.
| Class | Missing members |
|---|---|
| Workspace | 32 |
| Stats | 31 |
| MarketplaceService | 29 |
| BasePart | 27 |
| Player | 26 |
| TestService | 23 |
| Players | 21 |
| AssetService | 21 |
| SocialService | 20 |
| Plugin | 19 |
| Humanoid | 19 |
| UserInputService | 18 |
| GuiService | 18 |
| Terrain | 16 |
| PhysicsService | 16 |
| SoundService | 15 |
| RunService | 14 |
| Sky | 13 |
| Decal | 13 |
| DataModel | 13 |
| AnimationTrack | 13 |
| ReflectionMetadataItem | 11 |
| Instance | 11 |
| ContentProvider | 10 |
| Animator | 10 |
| UserGameSettings | 9 |
| StarterPlayer | 9 |
| NetworkSettings | 9 |
| Chat | 9 |
| Camera | 9 |
| PlayerScripts | 8 |
| LogService | 8 |
| AdService | 8 |
| TeleportService | 7 |
| PhysicsSettings | 7 |
| ScrollingFrame | 6 |
| PartOperation | 6 |
| Model | 6 |
| MeshPart | 6 |
| Lighting | 6 |
Largest classes not yet in Nova¶
| Class | Roblox members |
|---|---|
| Studio | 207 |
| HumanoidRigDescription | 131 |
| EditableMesh | 99 |
| AvatarEditorService | 80 |
| VoiceChatService | 69 |
| UGCValidationService | 69 |
| CaptureService | 66 |
| TextChatService | 63 |
| HumanoidDescription | 55 |
| MaterialService | 52 |
| DigitsRigDescription | 50 |
| StudioService | 48 |
| WorldRoot | 46 |
| DragDetector | 43 |
| AvatarCreationService | 33 |
| VoiceChatInternal | 32 |
| AvatarBodyRules | 32 |
| LocalizationService | 30 |
| VRService | 29 |
| UIDragDetector | 29 |
| ProximityPrompt | 29 |
| VirtualInputManager | 28 |
| DebuggerConnection | 27 |
| AvatarClothingRules | 27 |
| AnnotationsService | 27 |
| VideoPlayer | 26 |
| VideoFrame | 26 |
| RootImportData | 26 |
| AssetManagerService | 26 |
| AuroraService | 25 |
| AudioPlayer | 25 |
| TextChatMessage | 24 |
| Path2D | 24 |
| IXPService | 24 |
| AvatarAccessoryRules | 24 |
| AudioTextToSpeech | 24 |
| InputBinding | 23 |
| LocalizationTable | 22 |
| Beam | 22 |
| AvatarAnimationRules | 22 |
Not planned¶
These classes are intentionally out of scope. See What Nova supports.
AppAgeSignalsService, AvatarChatService, FaceAnimatorService, FaceControls, FacialAgeEstimationService
Nova-only classes¶
AnimationTrackState, Button, ButtonBindingWidget, ChatFilter, ContentFilter, GuiItem, GuiRoot, InstancePacketCache, LocalWorkspace, OneQuarterClusterPacketCacheBase, ParallelRampPart, PersonalServerService, PhysicsPacketCache, PrismPart, ProfilingItem, PyramidPart, RenderHooksService, RightAngleRampPart, RootInstance, Scale9Frame, ScriptInformationProvider, StudioTool, TextureContentProvider, TextureTrail, Toolbar