Sonic 1 Special Stage Editor

Mercury · May 2, 2010

I decided I'd like to try my hand at entering a hack in the competition this year, as I've never done so before and it seems like fun.

In the course of working on it, I realised I'd really like a Special Stage editor for Sonic 1. I couldn't find one I liked, though, so I threw together one of my own in about 3 days.

Here's the result. (see below for link)

(It's got Undo and Redo, which is really useful.)

I wouldn't mind some feedback/criticism/whatever.

EDIT: Please re-download to get the updated features:

Added in Version 1.02:

Solved a bug that caused saving to fail sometimes when using Enigma Compression

Added error message on Enigma failure (it shouldn't anymore, but just in case...)

Added in Version 1.01:

Added Enigma compression import/export. It really needed it.

Y'know, you're right. The obj palette should always be there. I put it on the left, though, because the window shouldn't get too tall for folks with 1024x768.

Added an object id display. Minor detail, but meh, I thought it might be useful.

Fixed a bug (after clearing the layout with "File: New", it didn't close the file. Using "File: Save" afterward would save over the file).

Ell678 · May 2, 2010

Brilliant. I'l be editing my special stages soon, so I'l download this later tonight and give it a whirl.

Selbi · May 2, 2010

What I especially like is the click-and-draw function. I never really saw that feature in any other editors (I think there's only Puto's). Definitly the BEST editor out there at the moment. =)

I have a few ideas though:

It would be very nice if you can make the window resizeable, so you can see more than just this little 25x25 field (especially helpful if you have a huge layout).

I'd also like to see to have the object palette always displayed below the layout. Not that pressing space is a hard job, but I prefer it if you can quickly change the layout. If you don't wanna do that, it would be still nice if you can click anywhere to make that window disappear, instead of clicking space again.

Also, I'm wondering, is the object palette quite incomplete? I can see the 1, 2 and 3 blocks twice while the 4, 5 and 6 blocks are completly missing.

MarkeyJester · May 2, 2010

Ah Impressive, works nicely, user friendly, "LOADING" written using the blocks was a nice touch in my opinion =P

What you could do to make this program just that little bit more special, is enable it to open and save special stages compressed in the Enigma format (Or possibly any other formats).

Ell678 · May 2, 2010

This is awesome. I can't compare it to any other special stage editing tool, because I havn't used any, but it's still impressive. Special stage editing begins eariler for me now, thank you!

Edit : After using it properly for a while, I still say this is amazing stuff. As MarkeyJester said, it would be nice for the tool to be able to edit compressed files, but it is just a minor nuisance. I have made two special stages tonight, which just need minor tweaking. Clearly, a testament to how user-friendly it is.

Mercury · May 3, 2010

Thanks for the feedback, guys! I've taken some of it to heart and uploaded a version 1.01 with some changes, so please re-download! I've edited the OP with the new link and change log.

Selbi said:

It would be very nice if you can make the window resizeable, so you can see more than just this little 25x25 field (especially helpful if you have a huge layout).
Click to expand...

Game Maker is a pain in the ass when it comes to resizing, so I'm afraid 25x25 is what we're stuck with. (It's not that little, though: even the largest stage doesn't fill the 64x64 grid.)

Also, I'm wondering, is the object palette quite incomplete? I can see the 1, 2 and 3 blocks twice while the 4, 5 and 6 blocks are completly missing.
Click to expand...

I got the object graphics directly from Sonic 1. If those are supposed to be a 4, a 5, and a 6, they sure don't show up that way when I place them in the stages. Anyone know why?

FraGag · May 4, 2010

Mercury said:

Also, I'm wondering, is the object palette quite incomplete? I can see the 1, 2 and 3 blocks twice while the 4, 5 and 6 blocks are completly missing.
Click to expand...

I got the object graphics directly from Sonic 1. If those are supposed to be a 4, a 5, and a 6, they sure don't show up that way when I place them in the stages. Anyone know why?
Click to expand...

The PLC for the special stage (PLC_SpeStage in _inc\Pattern load cues.asm) loads the 1-2-3 blocks, then right after those, the 4-5-6 blocks are defined, but they are not actually part of the PLC, because of the number of entries it specifies. If you wanted to use the 4-5-6 blocks, you would have to add a PLC for those blocks. Also, since they overlap the 1-2-3 blocks, you can't use them at the same time as the 1-2-3 blocks (unless there's enough free VRAM in the special stage).

Mercury · May 4, 2010

Well, since they don't do anything, I guess it doesn't really matter...?

Selbi · May 4, 2010

Oh... well, I never used any block except the Zone 1 block, so I never noticed that. Just thought because of this.

But yeah, forget it then. If somebody needs those blocks, he will have to do the PLCs himself first. =P

Ell678 · May 25, 2010

I think I have found a bug.

While editing a Special stage a while ago, I spent a long time on the program, saving as I went of course. When I came to test it, very little had actually been saved, leaving just a few lines of blocks on the level. I ignored it and completed it another time. It just happened again on another stage, I'v opened an original special stage and modified that (except the starting area) and remembering what happened the last time I spent a long time on it, saved it, and actually re-opened it in the editor, and all the work I had done was gone, again, bar a few blocks.

I had spent a while editing another stage before this happened, and for safety, went back and checked that, and it opens fine and appears fully in the game. I'm sorry for this very vague report, but I felt it was worth mentioning anyway.

Mercury · May 25, 2010

That sounds very serious. The worst kind of bug is one that causes lost work! I'll look into it right away.

Thanks for reporting!

Ell678 · May 26, 2010

I just apologise that it wasn't extensive enough. If it is a fault of mine, due to all this compress / decompress thing, then I will have made a right fool of myself here :/ I don't think it is, due to the fact I edited the previous stage from the same folder in the same "session", so to speak, and not decompressing causes it to be a garbled mess in the editor. The previous one plays 100% fine, just this one is gone.

Mercury · May 27, 2010

Well, I sussed out the cause of the bug, after much experimentation.

Turns out it wasn't technically my fault. The KENS extension I was using had some sort of memory problem, rendering it incapable of saving more than once in a row. (If you made a change, saved, made another change, and saved again, only the first change would be preserved.)

Thankfully, the problem was solved by changing how I handled the extension, and by freeing the memory after each external call.

I've updated the download link in the OP. Please re-download! I hate the thought of somebody losing hard work due to a problem in my programme.

Thanks again for bringing it to my attention, Ell!

Ell678 · May 27, 2010

Awesome! Re-downloading.

OrdosAlpha · Jun 23, 2010

Download link is fucked. Fix please.

dsrb · Jun 23, 2010

For when you reupload it, I made a wiki article: Sonic 1 Special Stage Editor

Mercury · Jun 24, 2010

Thanks, dsrb.

The link is fixed now. Sorry about that!

Sonic 1 Special Stage Editor

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