[TUTORIAL] Editing Sprites with SonMapED

I would not recommend using SonMapED (And neither does Sonic Retro's wiki) in this day and age. The UI is archaic, highly dependent on shortcut keys that can take a long time to memorize for beginners, and centring and shifting sprites is a nightmare when all the sprites are visible in a single, black viewport. And it's fixed to only support 4 games, and only partially. Flex 2 is the new standard, with a more user-friendly UI and the capability to define any game's sprite format via Javascript. And even supports community made compression formats like Kosinski+ and Comper.
This tutorial also fails to teach you how to actually edit sprites, all you've done is import an image on top of existing sprites. How do I insert new sprite pieces? Position them? What about creating new frames and tiles?
Don't let these criticisms dissuade you from tutorials. I'm just asking you to do more research on what the current standards are, and making sure you include other important information. A comprehensive Flex 2 manual would be great.

 

I maintain an improved clone of SonMapEd that addresses some of its shortcomings, like its lack of Kosinski+ and Comper support. It might worth considering over the original SonMapEd.

 

@Kilo Why is it that every time someone tries to post something helpful here, one or more Tech Members have the nerve to go "uhm actually"? You aren't encouraging, you're doing the exact opposite. No wonder this subforum is dead; you always gotta worry about someone trying to one-up you without asking.

And for the record, claiming that Flex 2 is the only worthwhile standard to use is just plain ignorant. I've been using SonMapEd for years and only switched away from it after ClownMapEd got released. I couldn't get used to Flex's UI, much like you apparently can't get used to SonMapEd's UI.

In a nutshell, holy fuck, let newcomers shine without immediately trying to piss in their shoes.

@PeanutNoceda Great tutorial!

 

Couldn't agree more with what Selbi said. I do appreciate a newbie giving a tutorial and making a shot at trying to help others, and while it is a bit empty lacking some extra steps like adding additional sprites for example, at least they're giving it a go and aren't doing anything wrong from what I see. However, I agree that ClownMapED is still worth using over the original as it supports those modern decompressors one might use.

There are still people out there who may be comfortable using older tools like SonED2 or disassemblies from the mid-2000s, much like those who are willing to stick to older OSes, which is perfectly fine. Not everyone is willing to jump to newer stuff and probably learn various new things. I also used SonMapED for the first couple of years of ROM hacking and had no issues with the features it provides. We all need to work in our comfort zone, and if one feels comfortable working with older tools, as long as it benefits them, you shouldn't have to worry and just let them enjoy themselves.

 

People should use what they personally are comfortable with at the end of the day. There's no right or wrong if you can get the desired job done either way.

I don't think there's a problem pointing to other tools as potential alternatives, but we should also be a bit more encouraging when people put their time and energy into something.

Take it from someone who's personally felt discouraged by the community at times. I won't bring up past examples, but they're there. My approach: be honest in your opinions, but refrain from discouragement too.

 

I have nothing to gain by "one-upping" a tutorial, I just want to provide better solutions when they are available. I tried wording it as nicely as I saw fit, and I encouraged PeanutNoceda to write a manual for Flex 2. And while I overlooked ClownMapED, it doesn't change the fact that SonMapED is incomplete, outdated, and shouldn't be used by newcomers wanting to get into the scene.
Blaming tech members trying to be helpful as the reason for the forum being dead is not productive, though. And we need to look at other factors. What I notice is a lack of modern resources on how to even begin with ROM hacking. Like, there's a 17-year-old guide titled "So, you want to start hacking Sonic?" currently pinned to the board which suggests manually hex editing a ROM and using even older tools like ESE. This is not a good resource in 2025, and it's one of the first guides someone wanting to get into hacking will see when they enter this board.

 

Yeah, that's my topic. I started it with good intentions but sorta fazed away from it all and, okay, my attention span has never been good. I just know that now. But it should absolutely be unpinned/unstickied because, yeah, it's outdated as all hell and there are WAY better hacking methods and tools now.

 

While I don't find anything wrong with steering someone in a different direction, I'd just like to address the specific word "outdatred" and the part about how it shouldn't be used: I use outdated software all the time. Sometimes it's logistics -- I can't afford to upgrade something. Sometimes it's skill -- I'm more used to an older program. Sometimes it's just pure preference -- I use nano frequently as my text editor for no other reason than I like it and it's small. If something is still useful to someone, it's not outdated, and people shouldn't use newer stuff just because it's newer. Who knows, maybe this person finds the layout and workflow of SonED better than the alternatives. Not being snarky, but it feels weird to talk about stuff being outdated, when we're talking about hacking a 30 year old game.

 

Exactly what makes you think starting your response with "I would not recommend using the very tool you have just spent a considerable amount of time writing a tutorial on" is helpful?

 

Wait SonMapED is outdated? Now I feel really old. I remember using ESE back in the day.

 

Flex 2 does not work with HiveBrain 2005, though, which is what a decent amount of Sonic rom hackers still use. I tried, but it just doesn't. I'm also still struggling with SonMapEd despite the tutorials because for some reason it crashes when I try to replace the life icon and displays half of the sprites with garbled stuff even after loading the mappings.

 

It should be worth noting that the original SonMapEd will not work with the very latest version of the Sonic 1 and 2 (and 3K, I think?) disassembles, because the sprite data was changed to use macros, which SonMapEd doesn't support. I forget if Flex 2 supported these macros, but ClownMapEd does for sure.

Regarding the usefulness/obsolescence of SonMapEd, maybe it's because I have used it for years, but I prefer the simpler interface of it and how I can use keyboard shortcuts to arrange sprite pieces and organize sprite order and stuff like that. Flex 2 is a bit cumbersome for my liking, though its sprite importer is far superior to SonMapEd's, which is the only reason why I have ever used it. I just stick to what I know best and what personally allows me to work most effeciently.

SonMapEd is old and has its share of jank, but I still think it is useful... at least for stuff that doesn't use macros for sprite data. I haven't really worked on any real Sonic hacking projects since GameTap 32X, but I should probably fully move on to ClownMapEd if I ever get the itch to do something. Hell, the fact that exists and is designed to work very similarly to SonMapEd should mean that this guide can easily be applied to it, which means that this very much has purpose in 2025.