Atomic Picnic News

Hey Loners,

The major update has passed by, but the work continues. Our next update is packed with exciting new VFX, SFX, visual enhancements, and quality-of-life improvements, many directly requested by our amazing community!

Here’s a breakdown of what’s new, what’s changed, and what’s been fixed:

[h3]What’s New
[/h3]SFX & VFX Additions

• Added Camille SFX and Gold Goblin SFX for a more immersive audio experience.
  
• Introduced Weapon Skill VFX for Throwing Knife, Rocket Launcher, and Ball Lightning which was missing from the last Major update.
  

• Updated Blooming Faucet model and VFX (decoy) for better visual clarity.
  

Visual Improvements

• New HUD for life and XP, including a low-life animation for added tension.
  
• New UI for the Area Hold Event to improve readability.
  
• Ammo bar now displays near the player’s aim for better combat awareness.
  
• New wood windows were added to concrete buildings in the City of Sands.
  
• Enhanced screen shake and shooting feedback when using weapon skills.
  
• Updated Rose drone colors and Survivor's Guilty stack VFX for better visual feedback.
  

Quality of Life Improvements

• Added unique crosshairs for each Weapon Skill to improve usability.
  

[h3]Key Changes
[/h3]The changes below are direct feedback from the community in response to the newest update, which introduced Rose and Weapon Mods. A huge thanks to everyone who spent some time writing their thoughts on our Discord and Steam forums and gave us some amazing feedback! ❤️

[h3]Rose Skill Rework
[/h3]Based on community feedback, Rose’s skills have been rebalanced and improved:

Hey Loners!

We're really excited to release the first Major Update for Atomic Picnic on February 28th, and we want to give you guys a second glimpse into what's coming!

It's a new Character! Captain Rose!



[h2]Quote[/h2]
"Destroying the World? I've been there..."

[h2]Profession[/h2]
[h3]Captain[/h3]
Fall in line or fall dead.

[h2]Likes[/h2]
???
???
???

[h2]Description[/h2]

• Secure, detached, tough, and observant, Ash's mentor figure and leader of the Loners
  
• The world’s greatest Agro hunter in the time before the Harvest Festival. While that skillset isn’t openly valued today, her living legacy is enough to earn a free drink at any passing bar.
  
• Exposure to
• REDACTED* at the heart of the Harvest Festival has left her body brittle and in constant pain. She’s certain that any additional exposure to The Zone could be her last.
  
• Her illness prevents her from returning to The Zone, and her embitterment prevents her from engaging with the Survivors’ Republic.
  
• She claims not to have any living friends.
  

When activated, you gain the ability to fly and shoot. While active, you lose a percentage of your maximum Health as damage every second, but this damage cannot down you. Can be canceled at any time.



When using Rose's Active Skill, she equips her Jetbelt, allowing her to Fly through the map! She's capable of freely moving horizontally and vertically while using her Jetbelt. Rose can also use Devices, Shoot, and fire Weapon Skills freely!



Once the Jetbelt timer is over, it ends with a literal bang, shooting Rose up in the air for one last mobility burst.



Just keep in mind that Rose needs to use her own **REDACTED** Power to make her uniquely designed Jetbelt work, so she'll lose a % of her Max Health over time while it is active!

[h2]Jetbelt Level 2[/h2]
While Jetbelt is active, dealing Bullet Damage generates Charges. When the Charges reach a specific threshold, they are consumed to restore Health.

Enables Rose to accumulate Bullet Damage done to enemies. Once enough damage has been accumulated, Rose can convert it into Health!



[h2]Jetbelt Level 3[/h2]
When Jetbelt is activated, it creates an exact copy of your weapon as a Drone. This Drone inherits all your weapon-related Curios and fires simultaneously whenever you shoot.

Jetbelt is further upgraded and summons a small Drone that copies Rose's current weapon, keeping a copy of every single Curio that affects Weapons as well! The Drone shoots at the same time as Rose and with the same cadence.



When falling, if Rose enters Weapon Skill mode, reduces fall speed. Increases all damage done while in the air.

Whenever Rose is in the air, and enters Aim Mode, she activates her Jetbelt, slowing her fall and making it easier to reach far distances and also giving more time to Shoot enemies while airborne. It also increases Rose's damage every time she's airborne! Be it during her Jetbelt Active Skill, Slowfall, or just by jumping around!



Whenever Rose receives healing, she gains one stack of Guilt for each point of health restored. The next time she fires her weapon at an enemy, all Guilt stacks are consumed and added as a percentage-based damage boost. Firing at non-enemy targets does not remove Guilt stacks.

After the events of the Harvest Festival, Rose has been permanently scarred, giving her PTSD but also empowering her rage whenever combat is tight. Every time Rose is healed, she receives buff Stacks; whenever she shoots her gun, these stacks are consumed and converted into bullet damage. Rose can accumulate unlimited stacks for incredible amounts of damage.

When Rose fires a bullet that consumes all Guilt stacks and defeats an enemy, all Guilt stacks are fully restored.

A massive upgrade to Survivor's Guilt, Rose can now recover parts of her Guilt Stacks whenever she defeats an enemy after consuming her Guilt Stacks. This improvement can make Rose keep on getting bigger and bigger damage numbers, maybe even becoming capable of killing the strongest of bosses with ONE SHOT.



Rose is a massive new addition to Atomic Picnic's roster and a special person to some of the other Loners that have already been introduced.

Are you looking forward to playing with Rose? What do you think of her kit? Are you already theory-crafting her builds? Let us know in the comments below and join our Discord

Cheers,
Edu
Atomic Picnic's Creative Director

[h2]Hey Loners!

Now that we've revealed that the first Major Update for Atomic Picnic is coming on February 28th, it's time to take a deep dive into the game's biggest new feature: Weapon Mods.[/h2]


Weapon Mods were designed to enable more gameplay styles and better build variety for players. These Mods are modules you can freely swap in and out of your gun while in the camp. They completely change how your weapon works, from how its trigger functions to how many bullets it shoots to making bullets bounce around the environment if you want!


When you open your Weapon Loadout menu, you'll notice a new button that you can press to customize your mods. There are three types of mods: Primary Mods, Reload Mods, and Weapon Skill Mods.


Click the new Modify button to start using your Mods!


There will be 3 slots to customize, read about them below!


Primary Mods change the base behavior of your gun, they can modify bullet damage, fire rate, magazine size, etc... One new mechanic that they are also able to change is the Weapon Skill Fill which increase the rate at which you can use your Weapon Skill!


When customizing your weapon some might even change their firing pattern!


Weapons might change their Shooting Trigger, the Assault Rifle can have a "Charge Time" for increased Fire Rate over time!

But it doesn't stop there. Primary Mods can also change the bullet behavior itself! You can now have a Bubble Shotgun, a Sticky Grenade Launcher, or even a Homing Shot Sniper!


The new Bubble Shotgun is excellent to keep an area safe!


Sticky Grenades, you shoot a lot of grenades! Great for hordes of enemies!


Reload Mods change the behavior of your Fast Reload Minigame and provide a small buff for completing it! Buffs can range from increased area size to a small burst of movement speed or infinite ammo for a little bit. There's also a new reload mod that lets you reload twice in a single reload, activating Fast Reload Curios twice! (JD fans REJOICE!)


Reload can grant you a small movement speed buff for a little bit.


You can also buff your jump builds if you choose to do so!


This one makes JD go crazy. You can activate your fast-reload curios multiple times in a single reload!


Here's the real meat of this new system! Weapon Skills is an entirely new mechanic that will be introduced in the first Major Update!

Every weapon will have a Weapon Skill Mod slot; you can equip a variety of different Weapon Skills that each have their own unique functionality, but to use your weapon skill, you need to fill a new gauge located right below your Crosshair. The rate this fills is based on the current Primary Mod, but the quantity needed to fill this gauge and the number of gauges change depending on the Weapon Skill itself!


Fill your Weapon Skill Gauge by shooting enemies!

So now that you have filled some gauges, it's time to use your Weapon Skill! You just now need to Aim your gun and then shoot! This will consume your Weapon Skill Gauge and shoot your Weapon Skill!


The new Lightning Orb Weapon Skill shocks enemies around it, but if you fire at the Lightning Orb itself, you can boost its output like crazy!

[h3]Important: all Weapon Mods will be unlocked from the start when the update is released so everyone can try them out! But we'll soon lock them behind Discoveries for you to unlock them as you play :)[/h3]

There's more to come during this update and more mods we haven't even shown!

What do you think? Please leave a like and comment below to tell us what you want to see!


Cheers,
Edu
Atomic Picnic's Creative Director

The countdown is on!

What are YOU most excited for?! Whether it’s new features, new gameplay changes, or other surprises you’ve been waiting for, there’s so much to look forward to!

Share your thoughts on our DISCORD; what's got you hyped?!

🌹

As our first Major update begins internal testing, Atomic Picnic v0.5.7 brings fresh visual upgrades, UI improvements, and a new Fire Path so you can burn them all.

From the final model of the elusive Gold Goblin to the revamped Curios HUD and fiery new VFX, every battle is looking sharper. Plus, we’re rolling out smoother combat text, more precise evolutions display, and a fresh state indicator for JD’s Active Skill - because every second counts when survival is on the line.

As usual, we’ve also tackled bugs and community-requested fixes, making progression and loadout management smoother. And while we’re still hunting down a few pesky issues (we see you, flying Ash 👀), this fast update is all about making every run more thrilling, responsive, and satisfying.

Let’s jump into the details:

[h3]What’s New?[/h3]

Enhanced Visuals & UI Tweaks

• Gold Goblin now has its final model—may the drip be with you!
  
  

• Grenade Launcher VFX colors adjusted for better clarity.
  
• New Fire Path VFX—because destruction should look as good as it feels.
  
  

• Event announcements now include illustrations for more clarification.
  
• This is direct feedback from those confused about what each announcement meant!
  

• Combat text is smaller and blends better with the action.
  
  • This makes combat a much cleaner experience; let us know what you think!
    
• Curios HUD (top left corner) revamped for a sleeker experience.
  
  • Shop items & Cursed Curios no longer clutter the UI.
    
  • You can see at a glance which level each Curio is now.
    
  • Evolutions are now displayed instead of individual curios used in their recipe. Giving them the highlight that they deserve.
    
  • The 8-curio limit is now properly displayed in the HUD.
    

[h3]Quality of Life Improvements[/h3]

• JD’s Active Skill now has a distinct visual state, making tracking easier in the heat of battle.
  

[h3]Gameplay Adjustments[/h3]

• Two event announcements can now trigger at once, so stay sharp!
  

[h3]Known Issues (We're on It!)[/h3]

• Music stuttering in co-op can lead to crashes.
  
• The taka-chan screen freezes when opening it and leveling up instantly.
  
• Dead allies may be invisible to other players in co-op.
  
• Steam invites sometimes place friends in random lobbies.
  
• The game stutters during the transition to the Final Boss stage.
• Ash’s ultimate + gear dash combo allows players to launch out of the map(free flight mode? Not quite!).
  
• Placeholder cubes appear as debuff indicators.
• Incorrect button prompt for Curios screen on PS5 controllers.
  
• Gold Goblin may get stuck in some regions of Twilight Dam.
• Mini Gun bar doesn’t display appropriately during loading and usage.
  

[h3]Fixes & Refinements[/h3]

• Locked character skills can no longer be purchased prematurely.
  
• Fixed abilities remain hidden in Loadout after purchase.
  
• Fixed "Cross" text being displayed instead of the correct gamepad button on the continue button after buying a skill
  
• Connection issues are partially fixed! More stability updates are coming soon!
  

[h3]Director's Note[/h3]
Hey everyone, Edu here,
We have good news to share!

Our first Major Update (v0.6.0) has just entered internal testing! This means we're gearing up for our first big release, which will contain new gameplay features, a new character, and more!
Our focus on this update is to bring a TON of customizations to your gameplay, open up build possibilities, and bring your playstyle to a whole new level. I can't wait to share more with you in the coming weeks :D

Oh, and this means that players who participate in our Atomic Labs program on Discord will be able to play this update soon! So, if you want to see what's coming and try it out, join our Discord and ask how to get into the program!

See you soon!