r/dosgaming • u/StriveForMediocrity • 7d ago
Updated rules for AI-assisted projects
Following the recent poll and discussion, we're updating how AI-assisted projects are posted in r/dosgaming.
We want to keep the subreddit focused on DOS gaming, cut down on low-effort and repetitive posts, and keep welcoming worthwhile technical work. Along with the updated guidelines, we're introducing a monthly dosgAIming megathread for AI-assisted project showcases.
Posting guidelines
1. Keep it relevant to DOS gaming
Posts need a clear connection to playing, developing, repairing, preserving, or exploring MS-DOS and early Windows games. Compatibility fixes, reverse engineering, source ports, emulators, and new games for these platforms are welcome.
Borrowing a DOS game's look, theme, or name doesn't make a project relevant on its own.
2. Show what works or what's changed
Give people something concrete: a playable build, a working prototype, source code, technical findings, or meaningful progress.
Early experiments are welcome. We may remove low-effort concepts, unsupported claims, and repeat announcements.
3. Disclose substantial AI use
If generative AI played a significant part in your project, briefly explain what you used it for. That could include programming, graphics, audio, reverse engineering, or other development work.
Routine autocomplete, occasional debugging help, and minor writing assistance don't need disclosure.
AI use won't automatically disqualify a project. Routine showcases belong in the monthly megathread.
4. Limit self-promotion
Keep standalone announcements to one per project every 30 days, except for significant releases or technical breakthroughs.
We may remove repeat promotions and minor updates, whether or not AI was involved. The megathread is exempt from the 30-day limit, but normal anti-spam rules still apply.
Where to post
Monthly dosgAIming megathread
Use the monthly thread for announcements, prototypes, demos, progress updates, and feedback requests for projects developed substantially with AI.
Main subreddit feed
Substantial technical contributions can still have their own posts. These include:
- Compatibility fixes and patches
- Reverse engineering discoveries
- Emulation and preservation work
- Significant source ports and reimplementations
- Major playable releases
AI can be part of that work as long as the post meets our relevance and quality standards. A routine showcase goes in the megathread; work that makes a substantial contribution to DOS gaming can qualify for the main feed.
Moderation
We'll rely mainly on community reports and moderator review. We won't try to detect AI-generated code or investigate developers' toolchains.
We'll judge posts by their relevance, substance, and contribution to the community. The tools used to make a project aren't grounds for rejection on their own.
Moderators may remove or redirect posts that don't meet these guidelines. We'll review the policy in about three months and make changes if needed.
Thanks to everyone who took part in the poll and discussion. Your feedback helped shape these rules.
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u/becircus 7d ago
We'll rely mainly on community reports and moderator review. We won't try to detect AI-generated code or investigate developers' toolchains.
The right call
There's lifetimes of reverse engineering that nobody will pay for and nobody has time for; without AI to do it, it just wont happen. As long as people disclose, there shouldn't be issues. I doubt anybody cares if someone used AI to reverse engineer a 30 year old abandonware that nobody has the source to and nobody sells.
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u/zgillet 7d ago
Porting software from one OS/instruction set to another is a no-brainer for tools like this.
One of the main draws of something like Game Maker Studio is that it compiles to a variety of systems (if you pay for distribution rights).
With LLM tools, now any old EXE has enough to do the same thing, but it's not the type of work that human eyes enjoy or that human brains want to deal with.
Now, adding features and brand new things with AI... eh I'm skeptical in the hands of a novice.
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u/DancinFool82 7d ago
100% AI is not going away and it's an amazing resource for preserving these classics. Community audits of posts is the way to handle this. It's nice to see a subreddit handling it this way and not outright rejecting a post because it's AI ( 20 year game industry programmer veteran )
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u/2HDFloppyDisk 7d ago
I may be in the minority but I found it rather annoying to constantly see “I made XYZ, check out my github link that also links to a PayPal donation link” post every day. It’s exhausting, really. 99% of the time it’s all AI generated content, which is fine to an extent, but it’s pushed by someone trying to get some sort of traffic, monetization, or donation out of the post.
AI does amazing things. I’m just tired of seeing the same “I did this” posts when it’s far from reality.
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u/According-Pea9319 6d ago
RE "I’m just tired of seeing the same “I did this” posts" - yes those really wind me up, I have been sacrificing my weekends for almost a decade, on a game.. on top of my day job and family commitments, often working off my laptop in a car while parked up, almost 1.5 hours away from home, while my kid does their 4 hour training sessions (3-4 times per week!).. Then 2026 rolls up and suddenly peeps are dropping games like farts in a pig farm.. lol, I think the mods did really well here.
2
u/schlangz 6d ago
so you are basically just mad because technology advancement allows people now the same progress in 4 weeks what took you 10 years. isn't that fantastic news for the whole reverse engineering and game preserving for everybody? apparantly not, because hurt ego posts is all I can see
0
u/theeoghaneffekt 1d ago
What did you actually learn though? You have no idea how to debug the code you got a chatbot to shat out.
0
1d ago
0
u/theeoghaneffekt 1d ago
All of a sudden you're acting like you're above doing what countless other programmers have been doing for years? I bet the average coder writes more code in ten minutes than those who rely heavily on AI could ever write manually.
AI code isn't efficient or effective, it is slop churned out by a soulless machine and barely legible to the human reading it who didn't code it by hand.
None of your tryhard "clever" analogies address or change the ethical side of things either.
1
u/kalnaren 6d ago
Borrowing a DOS game's look, theme, or name doesn't make a project relevant on its own.
Would this include the plethora of "I used AI to remake <X> game so it now runs natively in Windows 11" games that get posted?
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u/StriveForMediocrity 6d ago edited 6d ago
It would probably depend on what "remake" means, and judge on a case by case basis. I would largely defer to the community to indicate whether its appreciated or not, as there are a lot of shades of grey here. Bottom line is that there's no getting away from AI at this point, and the community should strive to maintain its identity of retro computing above everything else.
EDIT: Just wanted to add, we're all figuring this out together. The monthly post will be an attempt to contain projects like these in order to keep them out of the main feed. We'll revisit after 3 months or so and see if that has been working, and adjust accordingly if necessary. One thing has been made clear, the rapid acceleration of tech this year especially has not allowed for stagnation, so we'll likely continue to pivot over time based on needs and feedback.
1
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u/InfamousEmergency266 2d ago
The fact that AI exists today shouldn't make anyone give up on learning to program – quite the opposite. There's a huge difference between someone who comes with a programming background and someone who doesn't. It shows in the final product, and above all in the ability to spot and fix the bugs that the AI itself creates. AI is a powerful tool – but the one who understands what's going on under the hood is the one who leads it.
And the bottom line: the big difference is time. A project that once would have taken months was finished this time in a remarkably short time. Or as they say: Timing, is everything!!! ⏱️
-4
u/Skydreamer6 7d ago
I don't think its enough.
"If generative AI played a significant part in your project, briefly explain what you used it for."
Every single contributor will downplay the role AI played and won't tell us a thing.
5
u/HerbziKal 7d ago
We hear you. But now there is a standard set. The community can report any obvious, low-effort, or even suspicious posts or accounts, and the moderation team will investigate. Tbh I trust this particular community will do the investigation already in many cases, and the moderation will just be actioning on the communities behalf- exactly what good moderation should be really.
2
u/zgillet 7d ago
That may be true in younger subs, where the, hmm, I don't want to say intelligence level but I can't think of something better, is far lower.
Not many casual vibe coders still give a crap about DOS.
1
u/PlayfulInterview984 6d ago
Ai tools can remake many many dos games perfectly, in short time, and serve to preserve the game. I've remade many. Qol upgrades, bug fixes and mods make these games more accessible. This work throughput is impossible without AI
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u/chrispark70 7d ago
I oppose this move. Dos is the redheaded stepchild of retrogaming. While Amiga and C64 and other retro platforms see hundreds of releases, DOS barely gets a trickle.
0
7d ago
2
u/HerbziKal 7d ago edited 7d ago
So you asked if it should be banned polls showed 60% for baning and You allow it anyway
If you want to stretch the definition of "allowing it" to include restricting it to a single, flaired megapost once a month, then yes, we have allowed it. 60/40 is an incredibly split vote, and fair compromise is the reasonable decision.
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u/HerbziKal 1d ago
There is some confusion over whether AI-assisted projects and showcases are permitted in the main subreddit feed under the new rules... THEY ARE NOT. From the post above:
and
I appreciate that this line may be confusing people:
But this is specifically referring to the permitted AI-usage as defined in point 3 of the post, i.e.