Neon Noodles - Cyberpunk Kitchen Automation

Vivid Helix Developer

Vivid Helix Publisher

2019-11-29 Release

Simulation Singleplayer EATags

Game News Posts: 41

🎹🖱️Keyboard + Mouse
🎮 Full Controller Support

Mostly Positive (82 reviews)

http://neonnoodles.com

Steam Store

Public Linux Depots:

Neon Noodles Linux Content [298.22 M]

Minor bugfix update

This update addresses: - drone move bug - loop marker insert/delete auto-adjust - last level menu (rotate/move)

[ 2024-04-25 02:39:47 CET ] [ Original post ]

Neon Noodles 1.2 Update

Hello there! This update contains a bunch of fixes/tweaks, mostly around:

video playback fixes/optimization
timeline drag clamping
loop marker code editing
drone landing delete hack
yakitori bot deletion
area of no bot programs
avocado level metrics shown
sum metric behind histogram end level window
companion histogram numbers and line indicators
sliced pineapple -1 bot area
keyboard layouts shortcuts and display
translation updates for newer items

Happy cooking!

[ 2023-10-18 22:26:43 CET ] [ Original post ]

Update v1.1.0.125

Lots of changes in this update! Here's a list of the more important ones:

Run to cursor with Alt-click
Relaxed item constraints on some of the levels
Fixed learderboards bug where failed request results would get cached, and further tweaked throttling
Fixed flipped endings bug
Slowed down playback speeds a bit
New video tutorials for timeline mouse controls (drag/scroll), run to mouse cursor, recycling
Step forward/backward now always at slower speed, regardless of which loop
Fixed code editing for single robot with auto-pad off
Timeline caret gets properly hidden when navigating timeline with arrow keys
Red error indicator in timeline now gets properly cleared upon certain actions
Generated instructions now properly greyed out (for auto-padded waits and linked programs)
Added more ways to dismiss the video help window
Video tutorials only for mouse or controller only show when using the specific input method
Fixed localized labels for some languages in the layout menu
Fixed bot colors during editing/blinking
Fixed sizing of videos window in-game
Fixed undo bug for replace, then undo
Fixed visual positioning of conveyor belts chevrons after stopping playback
Fixed playback while moving not saving bug
Updated back button indicator for controller
Fixed rogue highlight in layout menu for keyboard/controller

Happy cooking!

[ 2023-08-17 16:44:21 CET ] [ Original post ]

Update v1.0.3.115

This update addresses the following:

Major usability improvement for large programs (stay-in-place after playback)
Fixed tooltip issues (not clearing properly, showing whent it shouldn't)
Simplified Fried Rice level (this breaks old saves for Fried Rice)
Visual fixes (timeline, bot numbers, exceeded stations in layout menu)
Fixed delete all, then redo timeline bug
Fixed move then play bug
Fixed bug with recipe-after-recipe ingredients (like shrimp, potato)
and a bunch of other smaller fixes

Happy noodling!

[ 2023-08-11 17:14:05 CET ] [ Original post ]

Bugfix update v1.0.2.117

This update has fixes for:

replaced the garbage station with the thematically appropriate recycling station
fixed move bug where stations could end up overlapping
fixed move + undo/redo combo bug
histograms now show white lines for the best score from all your save files
histograms now properly update the white line when editing completed solution
fixed audio cutting issues
controller/keyboard works again for changing settings
video tab in companion only shows after a video is unlocked
histograms now show up in companion right after completing a level
in-level video help popup now correctly shows every time for the last unlocked level
fixed greyed out indicator in layout menu to only appear when no items left available

More coming soon. Drop a line in the bug thread if you run into anything :) Happy cooking

[ 2023-08-08 02:46:56 CET ] [ Original post ]

Update 1.0.1.836

This update addresses the following:

introducing save games earlier in the game (as soon as histograms are available)
showing quick mousewheel/controller rotate video earlier
fixing an issue where moving items was laggy

Happy cooking

[ 2023-08-06 05:45:46 CET ] [ Original post ]

Video crash hot fix

Hot fix for an intermittent issue crashing the game when playing videos.

[ 2023-08-05 22:36:59 CET ] [ Original post ]

Neon Noodles is OUT NOW!

Neon Noodles is OUT NOW! Lots of changes going into this update! Most notably, full Windows, Mac, and Linux support, full controller support, Steam deck support, and lots of languages: English, French (France/Canada), German, Spanish (Spain/LATAM), Italian, Japanese, Korean, Chinese (Simplified/Traditional), Portuguese (Brazil), Russian, Romanian. Many more things I'm forgetting now. More notes on the forums. For now, I hope you enjoy my game! Don't forget to review! Yours, Head chef Radu

[ 2023-08-03 17:25:09 CET ] [ Original post ]

Neon Noodles launches August 3rd!

It's taken a while, but finally ready to announce that Neon Noodles has a release date of August 3rd! Please remember to leave a review, that would be really helpful :) Updated the store page with a new trailer too, with dark vibes from the story, and some new screenshots too. Exciting times ahead!

[ 2023-07-20 19:28:51 CET ] [ Original post ]

Neon Noodles Gameplay (pre-recorded)

Gameplay stream for Puzzle Fest.

[ 2023-04-24 17:55:27 CET ] [ Original post ]

Neon Noodles #16 - The Nearly Well-Done Update

This update is content and feature complete! Here's what's in this update: [olist]

Steam friends' scores

Steam achivements

tooltips mode for keyboard/controller

additional aspect ratio support

full story integration (including endings)

localization support (translations not in yet)

Hello there, robot chef caretakers!

Welcome to the Ramen Update! From now on, Neon Noodles updates will be named after foods in the game :) This update contains some tasty new content:

Red Location - this location used Egypt as a reference and will be used for dishes from Africa and Middle East
Green Location - inspired by South America, it will cover foods from the whole area
Soundtrack update - near final version of all the music tracks in the game. Sid once again outdid himself, some amazing tracks in there - here is a sample: https://soundcloud.com/sidbarnhoorn/neon-noodles-i
Histogram visual update - now clearer what scores the buckets contain. More changes are coming here, including starting the histograms from zero, as other games in the genre do.
Timeline fixes - some bug fixes that prevented the entire timeline from being visible in certain cases

Here are a couple of screenshots of the new locations:

A few more things in the oven for upcoming updates, including a whole new tutorial approach (shamelessly inspired by Frostpunk) - Radu PS: Neon Noodles has been busy on the festival front, so I updated the laurels on the Steam page - you'll notice that it was accepted into the prestigious PAX 10, so if you're in Seattle, come say hi!

[ 2021-09-03 14:42:46 CET ] [ Original post ]

The Ramen Update

Hello there, robot chef caretakers!

Welcome to the Ramen Update! From now on, Neon Noodles updates will be named after foods in the game :) This update contains some tasty new content:

Red Location - this location used Egypt as a reference and will be used for dishes from Africa and Middle East
Green Location - inspired by South America, it will cover foods from the whole area
Soundtrack update - near final version of all the music tracks in the game. Sid once again outdid himself, some amazing tracks in there - here is a sample: https://soundcloud.com/sidbarnhoorn/neon-noodles-i
Histogram visual update - now clearer what scores the buckets contain. More changes are coming here, including starting the histograms from zero, as other games in the genre do.
Timeline fixes - some bug fixes that prevented the entire timeline from being visible in certain cases

Here are a couple of screenshots of the new locations:

[ 2021-09-03 14:41:41 CET ] [ Original post ]

Community Update #9

Hey chefs!

This update has some tasty new stuff:

Teleport Station - this is currently available in the single, newly introduced Level 18 - Jollof Rice
New Jollof Rice recipe (yum!)
Rail Bot movement changes - now they're "tank-controls", meaning left and right are relative to the position of the Rail Bot, just like with the Regular Bot (note that the Drone Bot is still using absolute movement aka camera-controls)
New "Zero Table" - this is a table that doesn't accept anything on it, useful for separating parts of the level to be used in more set-piece level/puzzle designs.
various other small fixes/UI tweaks.

Here's an example of a future level setup using the new "zero table", where different sections of the play area contain certain ingredients/stations that need to be moved around (very much inspired by Overcooked):

- Radu

[ 2020-09-25 23:22:06 CET ] [ Original post ]

Community Update #8

Hey chefs!

This is a smaller update with bugfixes and tweaks, mostly around the timeline bar and exporting gifs. Here's an in-game exported gif from one of our Discord users (FireElemental):

- Radu

[ 2020-09-18 01:05:52 CET ] [ Original post ]

Community Update #7

Hey chefs!

Neon Noodles is back in business! A new update is now available on Steam. Many things happening under the hood since the last update, but here are the major ones:

GIF exporting (available in the histogram screen)
auto-padding of bot programs (inserting generated wait instructions to keep all programs in sync)
performance improvements (especially for multiple bots)
tutorial improvements (stability/wording/sequencing)
frame rate limiting/vsync
bot area metric reporting fixes
linking/loop start bugfix
histogram no connection/stale data fix
main menu visual improvements
properly supporting cloud saves for overall game progress
continue after completing level now starts from the next level
added Workman layout
proper display of keyboard shortcuts for all keyboard layouts
fix savefile timestamp localization
fixed version number display
drone behavior fixes (out of bounds and incorrect collision reporting)
empty saves now properly ignored
general usability fixes (clicking on timeline during playback, tooltips ordering/hiding, bot timeline ordering)

Here's an in-game generated gif (framerate/sizes not final):

Enjoy! - Radu

[ 2020-09-07 20:40:45 CET ] [ Original post ]

Community Update #6

Hey chefs!

Unfortunately Covid-19 has also slowed down development of Neon Noodles. It's hard to focus on programming with two little children being at home all the time due to closed schools. ^^ Here are some high-level improvements though you can expect in the next update that's currently in the works. All in all, there are about 40 small items we moved from our list to done already and next up we'll tackle some of the meatier stuff.

tutorial improvements (stability/wording/sequencing)
frame rate limiting/vsync
bot area metric reporting fixes
linking/loop start bugfix
histogram no connection/stale data fix
main menu visual improvements
properly supporting cloud saves for overall game progress
continue after completing level now starts from the next level
added Workman layout
proper display of keyboard shortcuts for all keyboard layouts
fix savefile timestamp localization
fixed version number display
drone behavior fixes (out of bounds and incorrect collision reporting)
empty saves now properly ignored
general usability fixes:
- clicking on timeline during playback
- tooltips ordering/hiding
- bot timeline ordering

Stay safe! - Patrick

[ 2020-04-17 15:06:57 CET ] [ Original post ]

Community Update #5

Hey chefs!

We're next focusing on core gameplay changes, including things like program auto-padding, railbot nerf, better tutorializing and another pass at quality-of-life issues. A lot of small things you shouldn't be really noticing but this list has been growing and growing and we need to take care of it now before we hit you with the big stuff. ^^ By the way the optimization game is still on-going on our Discord. It is truly fascinating to see how PentaPig sets one record after another by reaching the theoretical limit of what's possible!

(Cabbage Rolls and Vine Rolls by PentaPig) - Patrick

[ 2020-03-06 18:33:18 CET ] [ Original post ]

Early Access Update #4

Hey chefs!

This is a rather small update but it fixes all the bugs we've discovered thanks to your help since the last update and brings some visual improvement:

Main menu/Options menu/navigation revamp
Various bugfixes (keyboard layouts, loop start and more)
Performance improvements

If you want to see how the pro players optimize the levels of Neon Noodles, you should head over to our Discord! It's truly fascinating.

(gif by @PentaPig)

[ 2020-02-29 16:44:42 CET ] [ Original post ]

Early Access Update #3

Hey chefs!

The update you have long waited for is here! Multiple Saves per level! Now you can start optimizing your solutions! :) We also changed our Discord server so you can better discuss and share you solutions. Check it out Additionaly, Neon Noodles now also has a proper level selection. Nothing new, but visually more appealing. ^^

[ 2020-02-10 16:14:38 CET ] [ Original post ]

Community Update #4

Hey chefs!

Happy New Lunar Year! =) Apologies for the silence the last few weeks. Holiday season is always chaotic and stressful but we're back working on the game! :) Our list of things to add and improve is growing every day thanks to the many people uploading videos on Youtube. :) Right now we're looking into a interesting bug we called "double-use-rewind bug" but right after we'll jump into creating a proper level selection and enabling multiple saves per level to make it more convenient for our more hardcore players to start optimizing levels. Afterwards we'll tend to the new players again by adding more tutorialization to the later levels, more tooltips (e.g. when hovering over a station) etc etc. Got feedback? Head over to our Discord and let us know! =) - Patrick

[ 2020-01-24 15:33:50 CET ] [ Original post ]

Early Access Update #2

Hey chefs!

Our second Early Access Update is all about quality-of-life improvements! This builds upon our previous update, improving things like:

More tooltips support - using proper names, custom tooltips for recipes
New tutorial improvements
General UI layout/color tweaks
Minor quality of life changes Here's how the new recipe tooltips look now:

This is still an ongoing endeavour so please head over to our Discord and let us know if you have any feedback :) - Radu

[ 2019-12-30 23:19:16 CET ] [ Original post ]

Early Access Update #1

Hey chefs!

Thank you to everyone who left a review already and especially to City who was our number 10! Our very first Early Access Update revolves all around mouse controls, as promised before in the Community Update #3. So here comes the first iteration of: "what if you'd only want to play Neon Noodles with the mouse?" This update does not only include mechanical changes but also some visual updates like the much requested tooltips:

Without further ado, here is the full list of all the new stuff:

Revamped mouse controls
Completely new tutorial, focusing on mouse input
Visual improvements to all the locations
New and improved controls window (with fully functional buttons)
Tooltips
Various other gameplay improvements and bugfixes

This is an ongoing endeavour so please head over to our Discord and let us know how you like these new features. =) - Patrick

[ 2019-12-19 19:56:51 CET ] [ Original post ]

Community Update #3

Hey chefs!

Thank you for all your feedback so far! Keep it coming. We hear you and went over the books again to restructure our planning. A lot of you wish for an improved/reworked UI, which we will deliver within the next few weeks. But that's not all, here are the other improvements that will come within the next couple of weeks:

Display name for food/ingredients
Mouse tooltips
More tutorializing/explaining all the features
Revamped controls tutorial
Full mouse support
variable repeat speed (when holding button down)

Multiple saves per level
Main screen for level selection

Remapping keys
Updated UI to display different keyboard layouts and remapped keys
Alternate keyboard shortcuts

Mouse support is actually already in the game but there is no tutorial for it because it is not 100% completed yet. Feel free to try it out and experiment. When I haven't a controller at hand, I personally always use a mix between keyboard and mouse. Especially being able to click within a program to edit it is very convenient. It would help us a lot if you could leave us a review. We're only 1 review away from getting a blue thumbs up! We'd be forever in your debt. Got more feedback? Head over to our Discord and let us know! =) - Patrick

[ 2019-12-06 18:12:04 CET ] [ Original post ]

Neon Noodles Now Available!

Hey chefs!

It happened! Neon Noodles is now available on Steam! Now, for those of you who are familiar with the zachtronics games, unlike those, this is very much a traditional Early Access title and we have a lot more we want to add to Neon Noodles. We will post a road map about what's coming the next few weeks in the following days but first we'd like to hear your feedback. What would you like to see in the game? What needs to be improved? Important features you're missing? According to the feedback we will adjust our road map correspondingly and focus first on what you deem most important. Got any suggestion on how to improve Neon Noodles? Head over to our Discord and let us know! =) - Patrick

[ 2019-11-29 17:02:39 CET ] [ Original post ]

Community Update #2

Hey chefs!

Thank you to everyone who took part in the Beta Weekend. We got plenty of useful feedback and we can't wait to let you all jump back into the game to get even more. There are only 4 days left until launch! :O For everyone who played the beta, here is a list of improvements that will most likely/probably/maybe be included upon Early Access launch:

SURE

Proper Exit screen
Options: sound, resolution, fullscreen, keyboard layout
Finalized sound effects
Drone/railbot undo/redo bugs
histogram support for 3rd metric
Updated histogram UI to match rest of game
Improved timeline icons for drone/railbot
Mouse support in some additional places/dialogues
Improved tutorial texts

MAYBE

Even more polish of UI
Updated layout menu UI to match rest of game
More QoL (mouse click into program on timeline, double-click to edit robot, arrow keys, etc)
More gradual repeat speed in timeline move(instead of single speed)
Tooltips for stuff
Text for food

UNLIKELY

Auto-scroll other bots (longer lines)
16:10 and other aspect ratios

Got anything you think should definitely be available upon release? Head over to our Discord and let us know! =) - Patrick

[ 2019-11-25 10:11:37 CET ] [ Original post ]

Community Update #1

Hey chefs!

A lot has happened this week, like the announcement of our Early Access Release Date for example (29th November!). There has also been a lot of activity in our Discord so we thought its best to sum up some of the stuff we talked about in case you missed it.

Beta #3

The puzzles currently in the beta are limited in complexity to simplify things so I can analyze things properly regarding the metrics that are interesting to use. These levels also don't feature any constraints so the solutions will feel samey. Also, the ingredient dependencies are pretty simple on these recipes (as well as the ingredient multiplicity being always "one" of each). The checkerboard pattern is one of the common solution patterns when optimizing for cycles. Optimizing for program size will result in different looking solutions, and the third metric (I still haven't finalized which one we'll be using) is meant to push solutions in a different direction. Cycles is the only metric that will definitely be in the game, so I took it out of this beta to allow you to focus on the more uncertain metrics. Staleness increases for every food that's out in the open - so you're trying to minimize the time from picking up stuff to delivering the finished product instead of overall cycles. Like all the other metrics in the current beta, it's an experiment, I just want to see what solutions any of these metrics inspire - with the ultimate goal being solutions that are ideally quite different for the different metrics. A few things are currently not covered in the tutorial, like conveyor belts or loops. The recipe stations (that make food) all currently behave in the same way, it's all driven by the recipes in the top right. Conveyor belts are causing the most bugs at the moment. If you run into a bug, find the log (on Win): ...AppData\\LocalLow\\VividHelix 2018\\Neon Noodles\\ ...and send it to us on Discord or submit it via this Google Form: click

On the list

(suggestions from the community that are already planned to be implemented)

The UI positioning is temporary, currently going through a redesign
"Shifting" programs - you will be able to share and shift the program left or right. I think that will remove the need for waits and minimize the usage of the loop start.
Jump into the code where you were editing last, plus jump to last/first as well as a bot selector if there is more than one bot with code.
There will be conditionals that will affect the programming process, but like a filter inserter from Factorio. Something like a filter push station that only works on certain ingredients/foods.

Keep the feedback coming, greatly appreciated! -Radu

[ 2019-11-01 15:16:52 CET ] [ Original post ]

Neon Noodles is coming to Steam Early Access on November 29th

In the coming weeks we will have a beta weekend of the full game, which will be exclusively announced on our Discord server. Join now to not miss out on it: click If you'd like to get a quick feel for how Neon Noodles plays, check out our Demo on Steam. It walks you through the game's tutorial, offering a glimpse of Neon's Noodles' full potential. https://store.steampowered.com/app/990900/Neon_Noodles__Cyberpunk_Kitchen_Automation/

[ 2019-10-29 10:03:11 CET ] [ Original post ]

Open Beta #3: METRICS

The last two beta tests have been a delight and we're happy to continue our rapid pace and bring you #3 today! Open Beta #3 will focus on Metrics! Optimize away - there are a few variations for the Program Size metric, as well as a few other options for the third metric in the game (besides Cycles and Program Size). Click Download, playtest and give us your feedback on Discord. =)
In the coming weeks we will have more beta tests, each one focusing on a different part of the game. There have been a lot awesome ideas from the community already. Join now to take part in the conversation and actively shape the game: click

[ 2019-10-26 17:54:10 CET ] [ Original post ]

Open Beta #2 Now Available!

Click Download, playtest and give us your feedback on Discord. =)
Open Beta #2 will focus on debug-stepping and histograms!
In the coming weeks we will have more beta tests, each one focusing on a different part of the game. We are very much looking forward to hear your feedback to make everything as smooth as possible.

[ 2019-10-13 15:53:27 CET ] [ Original post ]

Open Beta #1 Now Available!

Click Download, playtest and give us your feedback on Discord. =)
Open Beta #1 will focus on controls. Keyboard, controller and mouse, plus extras like linking bot programs. In the coming weeks we will have more beta tests, each one focusing on a different part of the game. We are very much looking forward to hear your feedback to make everything as smooth as possible. Oh and we just won an award for Best Gameplay at the Design and Game Showcase 2019! =)

[ 2019-10-06 15:22:02 CET ] [ Original post ]

Free Demo Now Available!

Download, Play & Give us Your Feedback! =) We used this demo to showcase Neon Noodles around the world, now playable from the comfort of your very own home.

This is the first zach-like on PC, at least to our knowledge, with controller support, which is actually our preferred way of playing it.
Of course there is also keyboard support for all you Starcraft veterans who like to program with +200 APMs.
Quite the opposite, for the ones who like it really chill but don't have a controller at hand, there are mouse only controls as well. It's currently enabled in the last two levels of the demo, but please regard it as experimental as there is also no tutorial for it yet.

We'd love to hear your feedback after playing the demo! Whether it's here or on discord, where we'll also very soon announce the start of the open beta:

Join Now

[ 2019-09-25 17:21:56 CET ] [ Original post ]

Love Food? Join our Discord for a special meta game!

Hey! :) We just opened up our Discord server where we have prepared a very special kind of meta game, all themed around Neon Noodles. The most awesome reward will await the winners! But that's not all! Once we're ready, we'll also commence beta testing with selected members from our community. Join now and start your journey to become a Master Chef: https://discord.gg/xMh2kdX I am so looking forward to see what all of you will create out of this Discord server. <3

[ 2019-09-03 07:30:52 CET ] [ Original post ]

Hello World!

We are very proud to finally announce our next game Neon Noodles, which has been secretly in the works for more than a year now! We have a deep love for puzzle games, especially ones with a heavy emphasis on automation like the beloved Opus Magnum and other zach-likes. We enjoyed playing Overcooked quite a lot but always felt it was a bit too chaotic and would rather play for efficiency. Combining this with our love of food and cooking, especially simplifying more common recipes, Neon Noodles was born. Weve come a long way since the beginning and are planning to start beta testing in September. If youre interested in becoming a beta tester, make sure to follow us to not miss any future announcements:
If youre around PAX West in Seattle 30th-31st Augustcome by and say hello! Well be showcasing Neon Noodles for the first time in public at the Indie Megabooth and are very much looking forward to hear all your feedback! :) We are beyond excited with every day that puts us closer to launching Neon Noodles, which is currently planned for Q4 2019. See you soon! Radu, Patrick, Owen, Sid, Farhan

[ 2019-08-16 17:14:24 CET ] [ Original post ]

Set in a dark and mysterious cyberpunk world, you are in charge of the futuristic food factory known as Neon Noodles. Inspired by the open-ended machine-building puzzle games of Zachtronics such as Opus Magnum and Infinifactory, you design and build your own fully automated kitchen to prepare meals using robot chefs. Guacamole, bibimbap, ramen, spaetzle, paella and many more recipes are waiting for you to be optimized.

Features

Automate your robot chefs through an intuitive record-and-replay system where you control the robot that creates the program, then edit it later if needed.
Customize your cooking loops to be as simple, elaborate or streamlined as you want and compare your wits with other players around the world on the global leaderboards
Solve endlessly replayable open-ended puzzles with over 100 recipes from around the world consisting of 200 unique ingredients.
Travel the world and master the art of cooking through technological advancement in a cyberpunk setting filled with mysteries.