When comparing Cataclysm Dark Days Ahead vs Angband, the Slant community recommends Cataclysm Dark Days Ahead for most people. In the question“What are the best open-source games?” Cataclysm Dark Days Ahead is ranked 7th while Angband is ranked 51st. The most important reason people chose Cataclysm Dark Days Ahead is:
Get taken back to when games were completely made of ascii letters and your imagination. Venture forth as an @ and survive the wild. With the classic ascii art, it is hard to ignore that this is not a graphical powerhouse, but of course that is part of the fun, allowing your imagination to fill in this void.
Specs
Ranked in these QuestionsQuestion Ranking
Pros
Pro Classic computer gameplay that offers a lot of nostalgia
Get taken back to when games were completely made of ascii letters and your imagination. Venture forth as an @ and survive the wild. With the classic ascii art, it is hard to ignore that this is not a graphical powerhouse, but of course that is part of the fun, allowing your imagination to fill in this void.
Pro Open source and very moddable, making for a game that anyone can change to their liking
The mod community is pretty active on this game, and you can create some really cool things with the tools they already provide. This way anyone can change their game to how they like.
Pro Super involved gameplay that allows the user to dive deep into the mechanics of the game
Everything from weather to crafting to martial arts are accounted for in Cataclysm. You can spend hours mastering the depths of this games systems that allow you to play however you want.
Pro Being in constant active developed allows the game to constantly grow
Experimental releases exit a few times in a single day. Many people are working on finding bugs, and developers are quickly fixing them and adding new features. This makes for a situation where the game is constantly growing and improving.
Pro Free for anyone to download and try, which leave no one out
The game is free of cost as well as open-source, meaning that anyone can download the game, install it and play it.
Pro Graphics can be used instead of ASCII, for those that would enjoy something more visual
Not supported on every version of the game, but you can have a graphical experience if you want by using a graphical tileset for the game. This will need to be done manually.
Pro Active development
Angband contributors are still improving the core gameplay almost 30 years later.
Pro Classic Roguelike that has inspired many variants
Throughout the years many people have created their own variants on the game. Making for a wide selection of choices in gameplay and themes while still holding to the core design of the game.
Pro Challenging
Angband is a very difficult roguelike game with permadeath, meaning that all your progress is destroyed when you die. Most Angband players don't fully beat the game until months or years later (if at all). However, the game still tracks your progress and scores even if you don't win, so it's fun and challenging regardless.
Pro Crossplatform
Linux / Mac / Windows support.
Pro Addicting
Pro High replay value
Each play through has the potential to be a different experience.
Pro Simple character creation
Pro Vast community of players
You can easily find tips and help online, about monsters, items, gameplay, etc...
Pro Deep gameplay
Cons
Con Lacking hardcore survival feel
The game gets to be rather easy once you spend a little time with it. Basements full of everything one needs to survive in every other house, and stores that look like they were left as seem out of place since in a disaster scenario most items would probably have been taken already.
You can tweak the options to suit a more hardcore experience if you so desire. The options allow for a wide variety of difficulty and playstyles.
Con Difficult to learn at first
This could be a pro for some but for many this will turn them away from the game.