"Noita meets Factorio" is genuinely not something I ever thought I would see. That's an insane combination and I will definitely be picking this up and trying it out :)
I also remember playing that Powder Toy game on my phone in grade school, and I have a ton of nostalgia for these kinds of physics.
Will there be significant hidden mechanics/riddles/lore built into the world in a Noita-like way, or is the physics engine the limit of that comparison?
Thank you!
It's funny because I really wanted to introduce more things like that, but the very simple things I've added so far have received a bit of pushback ("I want to play a factory game, not solve puzzles!"). So now I'm reconsidering it, but I think there's a lot of room for really interesting Noita-style secrets when combined with the automation and processing tools.
Overall it's a much simpler and more controlled experience than Noita though, so don't expect anything like it.
By the way, this talk by the Noita devs has been instrumental when building my engine: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=prXuyMCgbTc
Highly recommended!