What is the SVE file format?
.sve is the saved game file format used by Simutrans, a free, open-source transport-network simulation game available on Windows, macOS and Linux. When a player saves their session, Simutrans serializes the complete state of the simulated world into a single .sve file - capturing map terrain, transport infrastructure, stations, depots, vehicles, line schedules, company finances, player data and the current in-game date.
Simutrans supports several internal save modes selectable in the game settings. The default is a compact binary serialization; alternatively, saves can be written as ZIP-compressed archives (these begin with the familiar PK file header, like a ZIP archive) or as a text/XML variant. Regardless of mode, every .sve file opens with a Simutrans save-version identifier near the start of the file.
Compatibility is version-gated: each .sve file carries an integer version tag matching the Simutrans build that wrote it. Newer builds can typically open older saves; an older build may refuse a save created by a newer version. File sizes range from roughly 100 KB on small maps to tens of megabytes for large, detailed simulations with complex networks.
.sve files are created and read exclusively by Simutrans. In some older Simutrans configurations the .sav extension was used for saves instead; the .pak extension identifies Simutrans pakset packages, which are separate resource files rather than saved games.
Security & safety
RISK: LOWA .sve is passive game data and cannot execute. The realistic cautions are compatibility, not security: a save may fail to load if the Simutrans build is too old for its save version or if the required pak set is missing. Keep backups before upgrading Simutrans, and only download saves from sources you trust.
Format details
in a nutshell- Generic application save/export file - A few unrelated programs have used .sve as a short form of 'save'/'saved' export; such files are app-specific and unrelated to Simutrans.
Programs that open SVE files
Windows1 app
Simutrans
Open-source Launch Simutrans → main menu → Load Game, then pick the .sve (it must be in the save folder and match your pak set). 
macOS1 app
Simutrans
Open-source Open Simutrans → Load Game and select the .sve. Use a compatible build and the same pak set the save was made with. 
Linux1 app
Simutrans
Open-source Install from your distro or simutrans.com, run it, and use Load Game to open the .sve. Technical details
deep spec| File category | Game save file - serialized transport-simulation world state |
| Encoding | Binary serialization by default; optional ZIP-compressed or text/XML variants selectable in Simutrans save settings |
| Byte order | Little-endian |
| Compression | Optional - zipped saves apply ZIP compression; binary and text modes store data uncompressed |
| File signature | No single fixed magic number; all variants begin with a Simutrans save-version identifier; zipped saves additionally open with the ZIP local-file header `PK` (hex 50 4B 03 04) |
| MIME type | application/octet-stream |
| Typical file size | 100 KB to tens of MB - grows with map dimensions, vehicle count, station count and network complexity |
| Internal version tag | Integer version number embedded by the writing Simutrans build; gates save compatibility between builds |
| Stored data | Map terrain, transport network topology, stations, depots, vehicle fleets, line schedules, company finances, player data and in-game calendar date |
| Forward compatibility | Newer Simutrans builds can read older `.sve` files; older builds may reject saves written by newer versions |
| Platform support | Windows, macOS, Linux (any platform running a compatible Simutrans build) |
| Creating/reading application | Simutrans exclusively - no other application produces or consumes `.sve` files |
| Related extensions | `.sav` (saves in older Simutrans versions or generic game saves), `.pak` (Simutrans pakset resource packages), `.dat` (Simutrans pakset source data) |
| Released | Simutrans (open-source since 2005; project dates to the late 1990s) |
| Latest version | Save version tracks the Simutrans build that wrote it (forward/backward compatibility is version-gated) |
| Specification | www.simutrans.com |
SVE conversions
Community Q&A
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