- Dapper Penguin Studios is no more - A passionate letter from a Game Developer - 30 January 2024
A Passionate Journey with a Bittersweet Ending Nine years ago, I ignited a spark within me - a fervent desire to create captivating worlds and immerse players in engaging experiences. Alongside a group of like-minded individuals, we ventured into the digital realm, establishing Dapper Penguin Studios as our creative haven. Our initial steps were fueled by shared dreams, unwavering determination, and the sheer joy of crafting digital masterpieces. Our first game, Rise of Industry, was born from our imaginations and captured the hearts of gamers worldwide. Its popularity soared, and combined with Recipe for Disaster, we surpassed half a million copies sold. As a result, our team expanded to 18 talented individuals, juggling multiple projects simultaneously. The Weight of Success and the Unwavering Resolve to Reclaim Passion Despite the whirlwind of success, we remained committed to our pa…
- Ho ho ho! A gift for y'all! - 15 December 2023
After a long time in the dark, we're "cooking" (pun intended) something that you might like. Meanwhile, got something for you: many bugfixes and especially a massive change to the renderer, so now even the absolute worst laptop could run the game. Ok, maybe not the worst, as this isn't Doom 1993, but still, you should see and experience massive performance improvements. Changelog: Most importantly: redid the renderer so it should work even on potato PCs. Changes: Showing patience over customers Improvements to Uniform Editor Improvements to Group Uniforms Added information as to why Employees seem to be idling Added fail-safes to Drinks when Food needs to be made Improved rain dance so it doesn't rain for several days in a row Bathrooms no longer flood the entire Restaurant Improvements to Main Menu announcements Relaxed rats so they don't cause so many issues, so often Improved panels…
- Hold on to your chef hats, 1.0 has launched! - 5 August 2022
Exciting news, restaurateurs! Fully baked and hot from the oven, Recipe for Disaster has officially exited Early Access. To those of you picking up the game for the first time, welcome! If you have any issues, feedback or suggestions, or you just want to hang out with us and other players, join us on Discord. Should you wish to learn more about the game, there’s also Recipe for Disaster: The Cookbook, which offers basic gameplay guidance and advanced hints and tips. As big a step as this is for the game, don’t go thinking we’re done yet! The Recipe for Disaster cake may be out of the oven, but there’s plenty of decorating and frosting to be added in the future. We also see no reason to stop collaborating with our players now, so let us know in the Discord what updates you’d most like to see. Until next time, bon appétit! Alex Mochi Founder & Lead Designer – Dapper Penguin Studios
- 1.0 Development Update Preview - 4 August 2022
Here it is, the last of our Early Access development update videos! Tomorrow’s 1.0 release includes three new, highly thematic scenarios, along with a variety of new decorative objects and, of course, the much anticipated bar and drinks mechanics. Pull up a bar stool and enjoy this preview of what to expect in 1.0: I’d also like to take this opportunity to thank everyone who supported us and contributed during the game’s Early Access phase; the game launching tomorrow is as much yours as it is ours, and we hope you enjoyed collaborating with us as much as we enjoyed collaborating with you. Alex Mochi Founder & Lead Designer – Dapper Penguin Studios
- Get ready for the main course – Recipe for Disaster to exit Early Access! - 16 June 2022
Hi everyone! It’s with great pride and excitement I can officially announce that Recipe for Disaster will be exiting Early Access on August 5th, with the full game including new features, customisation options and polish. Our goal going into Early Access was to collaborate with the community to make the best restaurant-management sim around, and thanks in large part to your feedback, support and passion, I honestly believe we’ve achieved that goal – that said, rest assured the launch of 1.0 is just the next step (albeit a big one!) for Recipe for Disaster, creating a strong foundation for future updates, new features and continuous support. In the 1.0 update, you will see: Bars - Your most requested feature by far, the bar will serve as a way to generate additional income, lift your patrons’ spirits and help manage your customer queue. However, this comes at the expense of having to ass…
- Update 0.7 is now live! - 21 April 2022
Hello everyone! I’m excited to announce our latest update is now live! This time, the team has been focusing on using feedback from the community to refine our existing mechanics and improve the overall gameplay experience. We’ve added a couple of new features to the game, too! Check out our Dev Update video below to get a closer look at some of the changes we’ve made. Updated Character Models Employees and customers have been revamped and updated to boost the game visuals up to the next level! New Customer Types Players will now see a wide range of groups coming through their restaurant doors. Not only will these groups share visual similarities, but they’ll have common traits and food preferences, too! Mood Mechanics Customer patience and Employee stress will now be called ‘mood’. Mood increases as a result of positive thoughts and decreases with negative ones. Don’t forget to check t…
- Happy New Lunar Year! - 27 January 2022
Hello everyone and Happy New Lunar Year! As you may have seen, we recently released our latest major update ‘Events and Disasters’, which includes extra campaign levels, new disasters, additional dynamic events and more! In order to celebrate a New Lunar Year, not only is Recipe for Disaster taking part in the Steam Lunar Sale, but we’ve also added some themed Lunar Year content into the game. We’ve created a new campaign level; ‘Dragon Rising’. In this scenario, you’ll be striving for review perfection whilst juggling staff mood swings and opinionated VIPS - failure is not an option! We’ve also added in several themed items, including lighting, wallpaper, furniture and decor. I’d love to know what you think of the new levels and content! Reviews are always welcome and you can come share your thoughts and feedback on our Twitter and Discord. Alex Mochi Founder & Lead Designer - Dapper P…
- New Events & Disasters update is live! - 25 January 2022
Today I’m excited to be announcing the launch of our next major update! This time around we’ve been focusing on expanding and improving the single player campaign by introducing health inspection and VIP events, additional disasters, loads more customer and staff dynamic events, and two entirely new levels! We’ve put together an update video detailing all of the new content for you to take a look at, enjoy! As always we’d love to hear what you think about the new content and systems, so feel free to drop by our Twitter and Discord channels. If you’ve got the time you can also have your say on specific gameplay elements, and which roadmap development items we should be working on next by completing the in-game feedback form. It’s greatly appreciated! I’ll be back with another update outlining what we’ll be working on next in the coming weeks, so speak soon! Alex Mochi Founder & Lead Desi…
- 0.6.0:0125a - 25 January 2022
EM = Employee CX = Customer FC = Food Critic FP = Freeplay Additions: - "Men at Work" and "Dragon Rising" campaign levels - Many dynamic events - New ingredients - Rebind screen - New disasters - Notification for event outcome Changes: - Workshop thumbnails - Lengthened EM names - AZERTY support - Default language now English, no matter what - F11 improvements - Save names now accept symbols Fixes: - Recipes and uniforms globalised now show correctly - Parties show correctly in CX panel - Chinese tables don't allow effort - Level performance issues - Show raw strings - FC thoughts - Currency mismatches - Preview images of uniform editor - Toilet clogged tile couldn't be cleaned - Couldn't move objects accordingly - Invisible Fire Extinguishers - Health inspections on day 1 - Paint tool stuck - Changed old CX reviews - New recipe generation - Rats never stop spawning - Build wall changes…
- Developer Update #9 - A taste of what’s to come... - 16 December 2021
Hi everyone, before we take a break for the holiday season I wanted to check in and give you a quick update of what we’re currently working on for Recipe for Disaster’s next major Early Access update, which is scheduled to arrive in January 2022. Following the release of the Freeplay & Festive updates we’ve been reviewing all of the feedback that you’ve submitted to date. A recurring theme amongst the community has been that you would like to see more content generally, and that the Expanded Campaign EA milestone has consistently ranked high as one of the most requested features since launch. With this in mind, we’ll be basing our next update around improving and expanding the campaign, adding additional content to the existing stages and introducing more levels which showcase some entirely new gameplay mechanics! Expanded campaign update - What to expect More disasters - We’re currentl…
- Developer Update #8 - Festive update! - 2 December 2021
It’s beginning to feel a lot like Christmas, and to get you all in the festive mood we’ve added some fun new holiday themed content to Freeplay mode! We’ve also teamed up with the fine folks at The Yogscast for their annual Jingle Jam event! You can catch Ravs and Sips playing Recipe for Disaster for the first time LIVE on 3rd December during their morning Twitch stream between 11am-2pm GMT (with catch up on their YouTube channel). Now, let’s take a look at what’s in store for you with this latest update: Festive decorative objects Christmas tree - Spruce up your restaurant with this attractive tree, complete with decorations, lights, presents, and golden star! Christmas wreath - Add a tasteful yuletide wreath decoration to your dining area, baubles and bright red bow included. Christmas lights - Brighten up your customer’s moods with multicoloured fairy lights which can be strung toget…
- 0.5.0:1130a - 30 November 2021
EM = Employee CX = Customer FP = Freeplay Additions: - Show FP seed on pause menu - Eyedrop tool to duplicate floor and wall textures (build mode, top UI) - Some CXs can love everything and hate nothing Changes: - EMs taking sick days now don't take entire weeks - Increased CX spawn rate - Smoked Paprika now recognised as Smoked Paprika - Lowered salary for Easy FP - Increased salary for Hard FP - EMs don't ask for less money when levelling up - Pathfinding calculations happen more often - Free labor no longer a thing - Panel autoscroll now resets when reopening panel - CXs much more impatient when waiting for food on FP - EMs feel sorry for other EMs less often - Build mode top UI icon changes - CXs no longer obsessed with bathrooms for up to 6 hours - Salaries go up quicker on level up - CXs no longer upset about things not affecting them - Deluxe Stove now ugly AF Fixes: - Lazy Avata…
- Developer Update #7 - Freeplay mode is live! - 23 November 2021
Hey everyone, in our last post we looked at your feedback following the first week of release. Taking on board what the community asked for, we’ve been hard at work on creating a highly customizable Freeplay mode, which is now live for you all to play and enjoy! This is the first iteration of Freeplay and we’ll continue to develop it alongside other existing systems and mechanics as we move through early access. In this post I’ll be giving you a full breakdown of all the new features and options that come with Recipe for Disaster’s first EA update. Difficulty presets First of all, we wanted to make it really easy for players to jump straight into a new game, so when you first select Freeplay mode you will have the following options to choose from: Easy - You’ll have lots of starting money, decent starting popularity, and many employees to choose from each day. There will be no losing co…
- 0.4.1:1116a - 16 November 2021
Changes: - MANY localisation fixes, especially in Russian and French - Lowered bathroom needs - Added some ingredients - Lowered fire chance - Wording in skill descriptions in the tutorial - Fired employees no longer burn stuff on their way out - Avatar can now be sent home - Added toggle in the gameplay menu to not show notifications for criticals when cooking - Autosave now defaults to "on" - "Spicy" tag now called "Hot" - Servers hate talking to customers less often - Removed trait limitations, so avatar can now be overpowered or just a total waste of space - Dynamic Events are now far more obvious to detect and operate - Death spirals easier to avoid with more Stress indicators - Changed default cleaning threshold from 40 to 75% - Higher skilled cooks fail less often - Autorecipe notification now more helpful - Objective completion popup now less verbose - Cannot lose the tutorial d…
- Developer Update #6 - Release week & your feedback - 12 November 2021
Hi everyone! I’d like to start things off by saying a huge thank you to everyone who has supported Recipe for Disaster at this first stage of early access! While your enthusiasm and words of encouragement have been fantastic to see, we’ve also really appreciated the amount of detailed and constructive feedback that the growing community has submitted so far. Even after just 1 week it’s given us a great indication of what we need to be prioritising along the development roadmap. I thought it would be a good idea to share with you some of the most commonly requested feedback items, as well as our immediate plans so you can have a clearer understanding of the next steps we’re taking to make the game a more enjoyable experience for everyone. Your feedback Via the in-game feedback form we’ve been asking you what your top 3 most anticipated roadmap updates are, and the results are in: Freepla…
- Recipe for Disaster is now available to play in Early Access! - 4 November 2021
Get it while it’s hot! Our brand new cooking sim ‘Recipe for Disaster’ is fresh out the kitchen and available to play in Early Access! Check out our release trailer below... A restaurant management sim with a devious social twist, Recipe for Disaster will have you contending with wilful staff, questionable cooking skills, demanding customers and kitchen disasters as you embark on your culinary misadventure to become the ultimate head chef! Build your restaurant - So what will it be? A swanky, modern bistro or a down-to-earth, cosy cafe? The choice is yours! Choose from numerous wallpapers, flooring tiles, decorative objects and kitchen appliances. Style your interior to suit you and watch the customers roll in. Assemble a dream team - Your restaurant will only be as good as the staff that run it!! Check the pool of potential employees each day and hire your favourites based on skills an…
- Recipe for Disaster - Progress Update Video #3 - 12 October 2021
We're back with our third progress update video! With our Early Access release via Steam just a few weeks away, we can't wait to show off some of the features we've been hard at work on. Recipe for Disaster will be available to play on the November 4th 2021, so remember to wishlist the game today and follow us for the latest kitchen updates! Restrooms - During their visit, some customers will need to use the facilities. You'll have to make sure you have enough restrooms available and that staff are on hand to stop them getting too dirty! Fire disaster - When employees are working in the kitchen, there is a chance appliances will catch on fire! Make sure to place fire extinguishers throughout your restaurant and stop it before it spreads... Mini campaign - We’ve created a mini campaign that takes place across five stages. Each stage will have its own unique objectives that you'll need to…
- Recipe for Disaster - Progress Update Video #2 - 20 September 2021
Welcome back to our second progress update video! We've got plenty of new content coming your way and you can check out our recently updated Roadmap to see what's coming next - can't wait to hear what you think! I'm also excited to reveal that Recipe for Disaster will be launching via Steam Early Access on the 4th November 2021! We've brought forward some new features ahead of launch and you can see some of these in our dev update video below. Restaurant Cleaning - This new system makes use of an employee’s cleaning skill, as objects will now become progressively more dirty as employees and customers use them. Staff Wellbeing: Stress - Our existing staff wellbeing system has been updated so that a whole range of environmental factors now influence an employee’s thoughts. Fair Salaries - You can choose to overpay or underpay an individual, and this will have a positive or negative impact…
- Recipe for Disaster Developer Update #5 - 6 September 2021
Hey everyone, I hope you’re all good! It’s been a little while since our last update but I’m happy to say we’ve got plenty of new information heading your way. Today I’m going to be talking about updates to our EA roadmap, the game’s release date, as well as progress on a number of new features that we’ve added since our last post. EA roadmap changes & release update I’d like to start off by talking about an important decision we’ve made to implement a number of key features at launch that were originally planned as updates for early access. Ultimately we want players to have the very best possible experience from day 1, so Recipe for Disaster will now include the following at release: Mini campaign Take on a variety of challenges in a multistage narrative driven campaign. Upgradeable appliances Equip your kitchen with appliances that range from basic to professional and affect dish qua…
- Recipe for Disaster - Progress Update Video #1 - 30 July 2021
Welcome to our very first developer update video! Following all of your feedback from our Demo in the Steam Next Fest, we’ve added a bunch of new features to the game - and I can’t wait for you to try them all out. Employee Skill Progression - as employees perform actions, they’ll gain experience in individual skill categories. This will eventually allow them to level up and choose powerful bonus perks. New Hiring System - we’ve revised this system so you’ll only receive applications at the start of each day. Which means you’ll have to compromise on who you want to hire! Dynamic Events - throughout service you may notice someone trying to get your attention. Send an employee over to start up a conversation and choose different dialogue options ranging from friendly to dismissive... Uniform Templates & Grouping Tool - design your own custom uniforms and assign them to groups. This will a…
