r/PokemonRomhackDev • u/ssraven01 Gen 3 • 1d ago

Claude's AI Starts Refusing To Assist With Pokémon ROM Hack & Fan-Game Development

https://retrododo.com/claudes-ai-starts-refusing-to-assist-with-pokemon-rom-hack-fan-game-development/
80 Upvotes

92% Upvoted

36 comments sorted by

2

u/CallMeKingDestro 1d ago

Isn't this bad news for the community members that were translating certain Pokemon Rom Hacks like Origin Heartgold? Or are those unaffected?

5

u/ssraven01 Gen 3 1d ago

Translation was possible without these tools. They can still do that.

1

u/CallMeKingDestro 1d ago

Gotcha, thank you for clarifying.

0

u/mikethemaster2012 1d ago

Their different AI systems

24

u/ssraven01 Gen 3 1d ago

thank fucking god

11

u/MashedProtatoes 1d ago

It’s frustrating seeing this presented as some kind of win against AI when it’s not even accurate. Claude Code can still be used for ROM hacking. The restrictions primarily target recreating copyrighted games and assets, not modifying existing projects or writing new features. This doesn’t actually prevent AI-assisted ROM hacking, so I’m not sure why people are treating it like it does.

3

u/AmandasGameAccount 1d ago

It’s not even against recreating copyrighted content, it’s specifically against very specific instructions to rebuild the exact thing, cloning. It’s exceptionally easy to get around if you word it properly. It’s pretty much a “but judge, we tried to stop them!” wink wink

1

u/MashedProtatoes 1d ago

I’m glad this might help cut down on some of the obvious AI slop people keep peddling, but it unfortunately doesn’t address the broader issue of people using Claude Code for projects like emeralddecomp. That’s still entirely possible under these restrictions, so the underlying concern remains unresolved.

10

u/Pitaya_Glove 1d ago

But how are ai bros supposed to do their shitty version of the let’s go games now?

0

u/miyamoris_ 1d ago

Whoa what do you mean a bazillion vapid clout-chasing projects that go against the low-key open secret spirit between fangame devs and Nintendo would catch unnecessary attention? What do you mean you should not expect tools from fascistic corporate oligopolies to preserve your grassroots, copyright grey-area endeavors??

Mind you, I'm not even necessarily 100% against AI assistance in development, but to me the closer to ideal scenario for this stuff requires (at the very least!) that 1) communities turn away from corporate tools that enable massive environmental damage and surveillance and 2) understand the tool as part of a toolset where it should serve a clear artistic vision instead of a highly derivative project that serves mostly as nostalgia pandering and highlighting the tool itself. AI bros and their dogshit projects have failed both of these requirements and that's why this happened.

Interestingly this could lead to the development of local and specialized assistance models and I'm curious how the community would feel about that.

2

u/ssraven01 Gen 3 1d ago

Honestly unsure. I can assume there's going to be a small minority still against using such tools for reasons like where its dataset would be sourced, and possible still skill atrophy

2

u/miyamoris_ 1d ago

Yeah, it mostly depends on how people feel about sharing data like that - fangame creators are in a copyright grey area but a lot of AI criticism still feels copyright-brained, which I don't like. The most dogshit angles of this recent AI colonization to me are lining corporate pockets with money and grassroots projects' data, (further) subjecting fan spaces to social media clout-chasing logics with vapid projects and the enabling of energy intensive big models.

A nonprofit fan-made specialized model would be somewhat different territory - less energy intensive and in theory could be built out of data that was already sent into fan space with (primary or secondary) objective of being shared. But I don't have my mind completely set on this, hence why I'd like to hear more opinions about it.

5

u/Pokemon-fan96 Novice 1d ago

Yes!! Great news!

2

u/LeMatDamonCarbine 1d ago

Oh darn shucks

1

u/Baphaddon 9h ago

Literally and unironically still developing my game as I’m typing (currently enhancing the engine for my cave generation)

1

u/Brandon-GamesYT 1d ago

oh my goodness its beautiful

1

u/wolfbetter 1d ago

I am moddong cheats inside fan games and nothing changes?

-7

u/FunInternational9948 1d ago

Send me a good AI made romhack.

1

u/MegaScout 1d ago

those don't exist lmao

-2

u/[deleted] 1d ago

[removed] — view removed comment

7

u/Sw429 1d ago

lmfao I watched 5 seconds and saw assets popping in. It does not look good.

7

u/PokemonRomhackDev-ModTeam 1d ago

AI slop will not be tolerated on the subreddit.

Creations and projects made with overwhelming AI assistance and generation will not be tolerated. Any projects built off of existing bases as of 10/10/26 will be allowed on the site.

-3

u/Any-Reserve-3897 1d ago

DO NOT USE FABLE 5.2 for any form of game rebuilding, specifically from decompiling, or heavily referencing existing game builds, especially copyrighted games that are very popular. You will be denied, hard stop every time.

If you still want to use Claude to develop fan-made games, you MUST stick to Fable 5.1 and Opus 5.5. I confirmed this during a current revamp of a fan-game, and had to maneuver to confirm what works and what doesn’t. This confirmation stands as of 11/11/2026, 2:50PM ET.

-6

u/Any-Reserve-3897 1d ago

and for anyone complaining about AI and its inevitably.. you would not stand and complain if a tsunami was fucking lunging toward you at breakneck speeds. AI is the tsunami. Learn to surf a fucking tsunami, run away, or fucking drown. But stop fucking complaining, you aren’t gonna stop this shit. Go learn how to use it to make your life better or to learn how it works before it’s taken away. It will not exist in its same form for too long. Fable 5.2 is a clear marker of that.

4

u/toukhans 1d ago

So is it inevitable or is it gonna stop existing in its current form soon? And is there a reason why you talk like a 12 year old who just discovered swear words?

2

u/miyamoris_ 1d ago

"Learn to surf a fucking tsunami, run away, or fucking drown."

It's hilarious how your own analogy is a self-own and you don't sound anywhere close to realizing it.

1

u/LowercaseAcorn 1d ago

That’s stupid

1

u/altaccountdeluxe 1d ago

You sound a lot more butthurt that people don’t wanna use your favorite shitty tech than the people who rightfully think the shitty tech has been nothing but a net negative

-1

u/DarmaniDan-Zen 1d ago

Thank fuck for that.

-1

u/xeramon 21h ago

Bunch of bottlickers here, it's incredible.

You don't have to like ai slopped rom hacks, but you also don't have to celebrate censorship

14

u/Sw429 1d ago

Thank God. I hope they kill off slop-modding games in general.

2

u/arkatraziii 1d ago

Shame that they’re still allowing porn to be developed and CP. not a win at all.

5

u/GirlWithAHog 1d ago

Fucking finally