SHSelfHostIndex

Cataclysm: Dark Days Ahead vs SourceBans++

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?
CA Cataclysm: Dark Days Ahead Open-source turn-based survival roguelike VS SO SourceBans++ Admin, ban, and communication management system for games running on
FeatureCataclysm: Dark Days AheadSourceBans++
CategoryGame ServersGame Servers
LicenseCC-BY-SA-3.0CC-BY-SA-4.0
LanguageC++PHP
Setup difficultyMediumMedium
Min. RAM512 MB512 MB
Deploymentbare-metal, binary, sourcebare-metal
GitHub stars★ 12,896★ 376
First released20132026
ReplacesNetHack—

Why pick each one

Choose Cataclysm: Dark Days Ahead if…

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

Choose SourceBans++ if…

  • Released under the CC-BY-SA-4.0 license
  • Written in PHP
  • Lightweight — runs in 512 MB RAM
SourceBans++ details

Frequently asked questions

Is Cataclysm: Dark Days Ahead or SourceBans++ better?

Neither is universally better. Cataclysm: Dark Days Ahead has the larger community; both share a medium setup difficulty, so the decision comes down to features and licensing.

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

Yes. Cataclysm: Dark Days Ahead is licensed under CC-BY-SA-3.0 and SourceBans++ under CC-BY-SA-4.0. Both can be self-hosted at no software cost.

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

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

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