SHSelfHostIndex

Cataclysm: Dark Days Ahead vs UFO: Alien Invasion

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 UF UFO: Alien Invasion Open-source strategy game of defending Earth from aliens
FeatureCataclysm: Dark Days AheadUFO: Alien Invasion
CategoryGame ServersGame Servers
LicenseCC-BY-SA-3.0GPL-2.0
LanguageC++C++
Setup difficultyMediumEasy
Min. RAM512 MB512 MB
Deploymentbare-metal, binary, sourcebare-metal, binary
GitHub stars★ 12,896★ 166
First released20132002
ReplacesNetHackXCOM

Why pick each one

Choose Cataclysm: Dark Days Ahead if…

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

Choose UFO: Alien Invasion if…

  • Released under the GPL-2.0 license
  • Easy to set up — beginner-friendly
  • Written in C++
  • Lightweight — runs in 512 MB RAM
UFO: Alien Invasion details

Frequently asked questions

Is Cataclysm: Dark Days Ahead or UFO: Alien Invasion better?

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

Are Cataclysm: Dark Days Ahead and UFO: Alien Invasion free and open-source?

Yes. Cataclysm: Dark Days Ahead is licensed under CC-BY-SA-3.0 and UFO: Alien Invasion under GPL-2.0. Both can be self-hosted at no software cost.

Can I run Cataclysm: Dark Days Ahead and UFO: Alien Invasion with Docker?

Cataclysm: Dark Days Ahead: check the project docs for container support. UFO: Alien Invasion: check the project docs for container support.

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