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Repair common Windows errors and clear accumulated junk for a smoother, more stable PC - no reinstall needed.Free scan · no reinstallYes. SQLDoom runs Doom’s game logic and renderer inside CedarDB, but it is not an all-SQL game: Python still handles keyboard input, timing, and displaying the image returned by the database. The project also documents four-player deathmatch.
What “Doom in SQL” means
SQLDoom is a technical demonstration that moves the game state, simulation, and rendering work into a database. Tables hold the game state, SQL routines advance it, and a query pipeline produces the next image. Python remains the client around that database work: it reads controls, drives timing, requests frames, and displays them.
The distinction matters: the accurate claim is that Doom’s game logic and rendering run in SQL, not that every part of the game is SQL. The author describes the project as a way to explore database features such as set-based updates, transactions, and access control, rather than a sensible architecture for ordinary game development. CedarDB’s SQLDoom write-up calls rendering Doom in a database a bad idea.
How SQLDoom works
SQL advances the simulation
The simulation follows Doom’s original fixed cadence of 35 game tics per second. Each tic has about 28.6 milliseconds available. SQL routines and set-based updates handle systems including movement, weapons, and monster behavior.
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- ENTER THE WORLD OF SKYRIM: Experience the legendary open-world RPG as a tabletop adventure, exploring Tamriel through branching quests, iconic factions, and rich Elder Scrolls lore.
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The project author describes the original WAD data as relationally structured and says an importer translates it into database tables. CedarDB’s cedarscript supports procedural functions used by the game loop. The project currently requires CedarDB for those functions; although the author believes that code could be ported to PL/pgSQL, the published project should not be treated as ready to run unchanged on any PostgreSQL-compatible database.
A query renders each frame
The renderer is a large SQL query pipeline. It uses BSP traversal, window functions, and per-pixel candidate resolution to return an RGB value for each pixel in a 320 × 200 frame—64,000 pixels. The author describes the implementation as roughly 5,900 lines of SQL for game logic and about 1,300 lines across 89 common table expressions for rendering.
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Python connects the database to the player
The Python client reads keyboard input and displays the database’s returned bitmap. Simulation and display do not have to run at the same rate: the game state advances at 35 Hz, while the client can request frames separately and interpolate between them. For deathmatch, a separate Python referee drives the shared clock.
What performance does the project report?
CedarDB’s 2026 project write-up reports that on an AMD Ryzen 7 PRO 7840U laptop, SQLDoom typically runs at about 60 frames per second, falling to 35 FPS in busy scenes. These are the project author’s measurements on a particular laptop, not independent or cross-platform benchmark results.
Rank #3
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The author reports a typical game tic taking 2.15 ms in a scene with six awake monsters, and a described worst case of 10.45 ms with 46 awake monsters. That worst case uses about 37% of the 28.6 ms tic budget. The results illustrate how workload affects a query-heavy renderer; they do not establish what other hardware, databases, or scenes will achieve.
Can you play it, including multiplayer?
Yes. The project documents four player slots for online deathmatch. Database transactions let players receive consistent snapshots of completed game tics, while the Python referee coordinates the clock. CedarDB’s SQLDoom repository provides the source and setup instructions.
Rank #4
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The project article links public European and US demos, where visitors can query live game state while waiting for an open player slot. Demo servers and available slots can change, so their presence at any given time is not guaranteed.
Independent reader supportYour contribution helps us test, update, and keep practical guides available for everyone.What you need to run it yourself
The repository lists CedarDB Community Edition, Python with psycopg2 and pygame, and a Doom IWAD as prerequisites. It reports that importing Doom 1 took about 18 seconds on the author’s laptop; that is a project-specific result, not a promised setup time on other systems.
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- How to Play: Doomlings is a fun, strategic, fast-paced card game where you and your friends compete as Doomlings species for dominance on a distant planet! Play cards with unique traits and abilities to build your species and survive the end of the world
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- Brand Story: Doomlings began on Kickstarter in 2021, created by two brothers who lost their jobs during COVID-19. It raised nearly $1M, became a top Kickstarter success, sold over 300,000 copies worldwide, and was named Teen Vogue's Best Card Game of 2024
The repository says the shareware doom1.wad is freely redistributable and sufficient for episode 1. Retail WADs can be used if you own them, but the repository does not include any WAD. The project source is licensed under GPL version 2 or later; game data is separate, so the source license does not make retail game files freely distributable.
Why this is a database demonstration, not a game-development recipe
SQLDoom shows how far a database can be pushed: it stores shared game state, applies set-based updates, coordinates multiplayer snapshots, and renders through queries. But querying candidates for every pixel is costly, and the reported frame rate drops in busy scenes. The project’s own author cautions against using a database this way for normal game development.
For someone curious about SQL, query execution, or database transactions, the implementation is an unusual and concrete example. For someone who simply wants to play Doom, the hosted demos are the lower-effort option when available; self-hosting is for readers who want to explore the code and have the required game data.
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