Sonic 4 Mod Loader

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To run it on Windows

In order to run it, you need .Net 6 Desktop Runtime and .Net Framework 4.5.2 Runtime installed.

In order to run the games you will also need Microsoft Visual C++ 2015 Redistributable and Latest Microsoft Visual C++ Redistributable both x86 and x64 for both packages.

To run it on Linux

In order to run Mod Manager, you need to install these:

# Debian/Ubuntu and derivatives
sudo apt install libgtk-4-1 libadwaita-1-0

# Arch/Steam Deck and derivatives
sudo pacman -S gtk4 libadwaita

To get AMBPatcher working, you need to install .Net 6 via protontricks.

You also should use the _linux distribution of the Mod Loader

Note that you will not be able to launch the Manager Launcher from Steam, instead to manage mods you will need to open the game's directory and launch Sonic4ModManager manually. This is related to the isolation mechanism that Steam uses that refuses to load external .so libraries from the system (e.g. without specifying LD_PRELOAD=/usr/lib/x86_64-linux-gnu/libadwaita-1.so:... to protontricks-launch) when using Proton.

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If you are looking for AMBPatcher (the predecessor of amb-rs):

• Rewritten version of AMBPatcher (used for PC modding as for 2025): Release v0.1.6.2p1
• Pre-rewritten version of AMBPatcher (should work with most AMB formats but is slow): Release v0.1.4.3

Join our Sonic 4 Modding Discord server

FAQ: https://github.com/OSA413/Sonic4_ModLoader/blob/main/docs/FAQ.md

Table of content:

• Sonic 4 Mod Loader
  • What is this?
  • How to install the Mod Loader
  • How to uninstall the Mod Loader
  • How to install mods
    • Manually
    • Automatically
  • Third party works
  • How to automatically update Mod Loader
  • Useful documentation for modders and contributors
  • See also

What is this?

This program is a mod loader for Sonic 4 (both episodes supported).

The Mod Loader includes:

• Mod Manager to manage your mods (enabling/disabling and changing mod priority)
• One-Click Mod Installer for an easier mod installation through the web and local archives
• AMBPatcher for editing .AMB files
• CsbEditor for editing .CSB files
• 7-Zip as a dependency for One-Click Mod Installer

How to install the Mod Loader

TL;DR - a quick installation video guide is here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CbeBXJief7w

Note: you need to install the Mod Loader separately for each Episode.

0. Download Mod Loader. Latest stable release is recommended, but you also can try the latest prerelease version (if any available).

1. Extract all files from the archive to the root directory of the game (if you don't know what root directory is/where to find it, check the quick installation video guide above).

2. Launch Sonic4ModManager.exe and press "Yes" button on the First Launch Dialogue. You can also install it in the settings menu.

If you want to enable 1-Click installation, launch OneClickModInstaller.exe and press "Install" button (requires administrator privileges).

How to uninstall the Mod Loader

1. Go to the settings menu in the Mod Manager and select the "Installation" tab.
2. If "Uninstall" button is disabled or is named "Install", check "Force uninstall" box
3. Choose how Mod Loader should be uninstalled using uninstallation settings below.
4. Click "Uninstall" button

How to install mods

Manually

0. Create a mods folder in the root directory of the game if it's not present.
1. Place/extract your mod folder into that mods folder. The path to the mod.ini file should be something like /mods/My Cool Mod/mod.ini
2. Enable the mod in the Mod Manager.

Automatically

Installation from a local archive/directory:

1. Drag and drop a mod archive/directory on OneClickModInstaller.exe
2. Press the "Install" button.
3. Enable the mod in the Mod Manager.

Third party works

• Alice Mod Loader by RadiantDerg under the MIT License. https://github.com/RadiantDerg/AliceModLoader

• CsbEditor (from SonicAudioTools) by Skyth under the MIT License. https://github.com/blueskythlikesclouds/SonicAudioTools

• 7-Zip Copyright (C) Igor Pavlov. (License) https://7-zip.org

• GTK4 by GTK Team/GNOME under the LGPLv2.1+ license https://gtk.org/

• GTK4 via gtk-rs under the MIT license https://gtk-rs.org/

• For other licenses, see Sonic4ModLoader/Mod Loader - licenses folder of a downloaded copy of the Mod Loader.

How to automatically update Mod Loader

1. Do one of the following things:

• Drag and drop archive/directory with Mod Loader on One-Click Mod Installer
• Copy-past the direct link to the Mod Loader archive (e.g. from GitHub) into the OCMI's url mod field in "Install mod" tab.
• Click 1-CLICK INSTALL button on a service that supports 1-Click integration (e.g. GameBanana)

2. Press "Install"
3. Agree to replace current version with the downloaded one.

Useful documentation for modders and contributors

• How to use AMBPatcher: AMBPatcher.exe --help
• Mod structure
• Description of file extensions
• Modding as for its current state
• How to compile Mod Loader

See also

• darealshinji's rewritten launcher for Episode 1 so you don't have to install Java to run it.

~OSA413