Escape Velocity Nova

Escape Velocity Nova (2002)

by Ambrosia Software
Genres:Strategy
Themes:Open world, Action, Science fiction
Story:Escape Velocity Nova (a.k.a. EV Nova or EVN) is a video game by Ambrosia Software, in collaboration with ATMOS. It is the third game in the Escape Velocity series of space trading & combat games.
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Vote to bring this game to GOG and help preserve it.
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Stories about this game (10)
What’s your memory of Escape Velocity Nova?Share your favorite moments and see what others remember about this game.
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user avatar@FoxSaltuser avatar@FoxSalt
January 29, 2025
Played this a lot when I was younger, the amount of missions, stories, side quests, and customization for the time, along with the simpler space travel/theme was wonderful... Luckily I still have my copy to fire up on occasion, but would love to see this return.
This game was expansive and ambitious, and more than a little janky. I was captivated as a kid by the huge world, huge variety of ship loadouts, and huge quest trees. Porting this game to GOG would mostly just clear up its current license inaccessibility. There is currently no legal way to buy a copy. But, better save management would also be a big bonus. Completing a quest line can make that quest inaccessible on later saves, slowly making the game smaller and smaller. A better way to manage that would be great!
user avatar@Ebalosususer avatar@Ebalosus
January 30, 2025
While the mission strings (what they called the plots for each faction) could be a bit silly, with only the Auroran and Federation one's feeling really fleshed out, the game's setting, presentation, and gameplay really grabbed me. It still does grab me, even if I wish they had stuck with their original intentions with the Vell-Os.
user avatar@Zavokuser avatar@Zavok
February 12, 2025
Played them all and Loved this one the most good story , music and sound effect are ingrained into my brain. Had a really good modding (plug-ins) community, i was so sad when Ambrosia Software shutdown a lot of my childhood gaming memories with there games.
user avatar@darkkmage56user avatar@darkkmage56
January 30, 2025
Really enjoyed this one growing up and even in college a bit. It's now locked to an OS and hardware that doesn't exist anymore. The FOSS community has made an amazing clone of it--Endless Sky--which is great in its own right. But the original stands on its own.
user avatar@NBSmith1701user avatar@NBSmith1701
February 26, 2025
if we ever get this one, bundle the total conversion mods for the previous two games in the series. loved this game, i'd still play it if i could. the two big hurdles is that you need quicktime and a display that can do 256 colors :(. been with the EV series ever since it dropped as a demo with the first game. loved the moddability of the game as well.
While I think Nova is the inferior story of all three games, this would be a great one to have on GOG. I think there are enough people interested to keep the modding community healthy. I'm lucky enough to have EVC and EVO running on a virtual machine, and I don't really miss EVN as a result, but it's still a very good game, and might be easier to get running on modern hardware.
user avatar@Lister108user avatar@Lister108
April 22, 2025
A few different games have had similar format, but none have copied just had expansive and adventurous this game felt. Then there were the mods! The Star Wars galaxy and ships mode were my first introduction to the larger EU.
user avatar@ShuRugaluser avatar@ShuRugal
May 02, 2025
This trilogy was a core part of my childhood. My parents divorced when i was 7, and my father bought escape velocity 2 years later when it came out. Playing the original, and then the sequels, with my dad during weekend and summer visitation was one of the things that helped me to have a positive relationship with him. Seeing Ambrosia close up shop and shut down their website a few years ago crushed me. I still have a local copy of Nova, and the TC mod packs for playing the other two games through it, but it runs like ass on modern Windows. Would love to see the franchise brought into the GoG collection, especially if it comes with an engine uplift to stabilize it on modern devices.
user avatar@Erik.user avatar@Erik.
May 30, 2025
In these times when the demands on games produced are high this game, Escape Velocity Nova, does in many ways surpass them all. Simple graphics and combat system, but that is not what makes this game greater than the most. The plots and story lines are in there own league, slowly driving you forward, first with a humble beginning on the way to gripping galactic proportions. The upgrade system for your ship is compelling always making you looking for better parts and systems. The way you explore the universe is absolutely mesmerizing, yet simple. The stations and planets you visit surprise you with plots and stories. In its simplicity it is yet so captivating. I can land on a planet with no spaceport or shipyard, but it doesn’t matter, the simple picture of a misty forest and the single tone of an evening bird make me stay there and contemplate of what to do next. So there are quite an amount of votes so far for this gem of a game. So for you GOG-team, keep on trying to get this game to preserve and protect. Make it to your collection and seal it with your “Preserved by GOG” insignia and overall, DRM-free, because that is what you are. Then more people will discover this game and make their fortune in the events of this universe with a simple start with the initial tutorial to the system Journeys End and touchdown on the planet Dunroamin in remembrance of your tutor, Barry.
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