SHSelfHostIndex

Cataclysm: Dark Days Ahead vs Battle for Wesnoth

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 BA Battle for Wesnoth Turn-based fantasy strategy with multiplayer server
FeatureCataclysm: Dark Days AheadBattle for Wesnoth
CategoryGame ServersGame Servers
LicenseCC-BY-SA-3.0GPL-2.0
LanguageC++C++
Setup difficultyMediumEasy
Min. RAM512 MB512 MB
Deploymentbare-metal, binary, sourcebare-metal, binary, source
GitHub stars★ 12,896★ 6,814
First released20132003
ReplacesNetHackHeroes of Might and Magic

Why pick each one

Choose Cataclysm: Dark Days Ahead if…

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

Choose Battle for Wesnoth if…

  • Lightweight headless server
  • Huge content add-on library
Battle for Wesnoth details

Frequently asked questions

Is Cataclysm: Dark Days Ahead or Battle for Wesnoth better?

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

Are Cataclysm: Dark Days Ahead and Battle for Wesnoth free and open-source?

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

Can I run Cataclysm: Dark Days Ahead and Battle for Wesnoth with Docker?

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

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