SHSelfHostIndex

Cytopia vs Cataclysm: Dark Days Ahead

A side-by-side comparison of two self-hosted game servers options — licensing, setup difficulty, resource needs, and what each one replaces.

Not the right match-up?
CY Cytopia Free city-building simulation game VS CA Cataclysm: Dark Days Ahead Open-source turn-based survival roguelike
FeatureCytopiaCataclysm: Dark Days Ahead
CategoryGame ServersGame Servers
LicenseGPL-3.0CC-BY-SA-3.0
LanguageC++C++
Setup difficultyEasyMedium
Min. RAM512 MB512 MB
Deploymentbare-metal, binary, sourcebare-metal, binary, source
GitHub stars★ 2,149★ 12,896
First released20182013
ReplacesSimCityNetHack

Why pick each one

Choose Cytopia if…

  • Lightweight and fun
  • Easy to mod
Cytopia details

Choose Cataclysm: Dark Days Ahead if…

  • Enormous depth
  • Active development
Cataclysm: Dark Days Ahead details

Frequently asked questions

Is Cytopia or Cataclysm: Dark Days Ahead better?

Neither is universally better. Cataclysm: Dark Days Ahead has the larger community, while Cytopia is simpler to set up (easy difficulty). Choose based on the comparison table above and your own setup.

Are Cytopia and Cataclysm: Dark Days Ahead free and open-source?

Yes. Cytopia is licensed under GPL-3.0 and Cataclysm: Dark Days Ahead under CC-BY-SA-3.0. Both can be self-hosted at no software cost.

Can I run Cytopia and Cataclysm: Dark Days Ahead with Docker?

Cytopia: check the project docs for container support. Cataclysm: Dark Days Ahead: check the project docs for container support.

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