Sonic the Hedgehog 4: Episode I

Sonic the Hedgehog 4: Episode I

Developers
	Dimps
	Sonic Team
Publishers
	Sega
Engines
	Sega NN Graphics Library
Release dates
Windows	January 19, 2012
Reception
IGDB	75
Taxonomy
Series	Sonic the Hedgehog

Key points

Configuration tool requires installed Java runtime libraries in order to run despite not being stated in the game's system requirements. You can use Sonic 4 Rewritten Launcher as a non-Java alternative to configure the game.

General information

Steam Community Discussions

Availability

Source	DRM	Notes	Keys	OS
Humble Store
Steam

Essential improvements

Sonic 4 Rewritten Launcher

A C++ rewrite of the configuration tool for Sonic The Hedgehog 4: Episode 1 that removes the dependency to have Java runtime libraries installed despite the actual game not using Java.

Game data

Configuration file(s) location

System	Location
Windows	<path-to-game>\main.conf
Steam Play (Linux)	<Steam-folder>/steamapps/compatdata/202530/pfx/

Save game data location

System	Location
Windows	<path-to-game>\Sonic_vis_save.dat <path-to-game>\data.txt
Steam Play (Linux)	<Steam-folder>/steamapps/compatdata/202530/pfx/

Save game cloud syncing

System	Native	Notes
Steam Cloud

Video

Configuration utility general settings.

Graphics feature	State	WSGF	Notes
Widescreen resolution			Game renders internally at 1280x720. See Widescreen resolution for rendering internally at 1080p.
Multi-monitor
Ultra-widescreen			See the WSGF entry.
4K Ultra HD			See 4K Ultra HD Launcher Fixes for fixing issues opening the configuration tool on a 4K monitor.
Field of view (FOV)
Windowed
Borderless fullscreen windowed		See the glossary page for potential workarounds.
Anisotropic filtering (AF)		See the glossary page for potential workarounds.
Anti-aliasing (AA)		Use 0x000012C1 compatibility flag with Nvidia Profile Inspector.
Vertical sync (Vsync)		See the glossary page for potential workarounds.
60 FPS
120+ FPS		Uncapped frame rate, gameplay is capped at ~60 FPS. Manually cap the frame rate at 60 FPS if the game appears to stutter.
High dynamic range display (HDR)		See the glossary page for potential alternatives.

Widescreen resolution

By default, game renders internally at 1280x720 and then upscales the content to match selected resolution. It's possible to raise the internal resolution to 1920x1080, however most 2D assets are done for 1280x720 and thus are upscaled regardless.

Replace files
Download this patched executable. Extract to <path-to-game>. Leaderboards can't be accessed and achievements can't be unlocked.

Input

Configuration utility keyboard remapping.

Configuration utility controller settings.

Keyboard and mouse	State	Notes
Remapping
Mouse acceleration		Mouse not used outside the launcher.
Mouse sensitivity
Mouse input in menus
Mouse Y-axis inversion
Controller
Controller support		XInput only.
Full controller support		Controller has to be selected from the launcher.
Controller remapping		See the glossary page for potential workarounds.
Controller sensitivity		Digital movement.
Controller Y-axis inversion

Controller types

XInput-compatible controllers
Xbox button prompts
Impulse Trigger vibration

DualShock 4 controllers		See the glossary page for potential workarounds.

Generic/other controllers		See the glossary page for potential workarounds.

Additional information
Controller hotplugging
Haptic feedback
Simultaneous controller+KB/M

Audio

In-game audio settings.

Audio feature	State	Notes
Separate volume controls		Music, SFX
Surround sound
Subtitles		No speech.
Closed captions
Mute on focus lost		See Mute on focus lost.

Localizations

Language	UI	Audio	Sub	Notes
English
Spanish
French
German
Italian
Japanese

Mute on focus lost

Set mute in background
Install Special K by following the Special K Unofficial Guide. Manual local installation may work better. Start the game and press Ctrl+⇧ Shift+← Backspace to toggle Special K's Control Panel. Expand Window Management and Input/Output Behavior. Enable Mute Game under Background Behavior.

Issues fixed

4K Ultra HD Launcher Fixes

Use Sonic 4 Rewritten Launcher
See Sonic 4 Rewritten Launcher for running the launcher without compatibility fixes and without Java runtime dependencies.

Change "SonicLauncher" Properties
Right click on "SonicLauncher" and go to properties Go to compatibility and click on "Change High DPI Settings" Check "Program DPI" box Check "High DPI Scaling Override" box Choose "Scaling Performed by: Application" Apply and its done. Now the launcher should open normally and you will be able to change the resolution (up to 3840x2160 confirmed).

Run the game at screen refresh rate

Fullscreen mode defaults to 60 Hz, even if the screen refresh rate is set higher than that.

Set screen refresh rate

Install Special K by following the Special K Unofficial Guide. Manual local installation may work better. Start the game once and close it to allow the configuration file of Special K to be created. Open <path-to-game>\d3d9.ini or %USERPROFILE%\Documents\My Mods\SpecialK\Profiles\Sonic_vis.exe\SpecialK.ini depending on the installation method you used. Change TargetFPS=0.0 to TargetFPS=60.0. Change RefreshRate=-1 to RefreshRate=0.

Mouse cursor visible during gameplay

Auto-hide mouse cursor
Install Special K by following the Special K Unofficial Guide. Manual local installation may work better. Start the game and press Ctrl+⇧ Shift+← Backspace to toggle Special K's Control Panel. Expand Input Management and Mouse Cursor. Enable Hide When Not Moved and adjust Seconds Before Hiding to your liking.

Other information

API

Technical specs	Supported	Notes
Direct3D	9

Executable	32-bit	64-bit	Notes
Windows

Mods

Sonic 4 Mod Loader

Mod manager for Sonic the Hedgehog 4: Episode I and Sonic the Hedgehog 4: Episode II.

iPad HD Textures

Contains higher quality textures from an official HD mobile port.

Highly recommended to use alongside with Smoother Cel Shader mod shown below.

Smoother Cel Shader

Smooths out the cel-shaded textures to give them a nicer look based on the color edges of the original textures.

Splash Hill Zone Re-Imagined

Replaces the music of Splash Hill Zone with re-imagined versions by composers Tee Lopes & Jun Senoue.

No HUD

Removes the HUD from all gameplay stages and special stages.

System requirements

Windows
	Minimum	Recommended
Operating system (OS)	XP, Vista	7
Processor (CPU)	Intel Pentium 4 3.2 GHz AMD Athlon 64 3000+	Intel Core 2 Duo 2.4 GHz AMD Athlon 64 X2 4200+
System memory (RAM)	1 GB 2 GB (Vista)	2 GB
Hard disk drive (HDD)	500 MB
Video card (GPU)	Nvidia GeForce 7600 ATI Radeon X1300 256 MB of VRAM DirectX 9 compatible	Nvidia GeForce 8800 ATI Radeon HD 3800 512 MB of VRAM
Sound (audio device)	DirectX compatible