Exciting news! Magic Research 2, an entirely new game from the creator of Magic Research, has just launched! Check out the demo and play the game now!
https://store.steampowered.com/app/2864890/Magic_Research_2/
And if you already own Magic Research on Steam, you can complete your collection and get an additional 10% off!
https://store.steampowered.com/bundle/41565/Magic_Research_Bundle/
FAQ
What is Magic Research 2?
Magic Research 2 is an entirely new game of the same genre as Magic Research: an incremental, text-based, auto-battler RPG with a heavy focus on Magic. Play the role of a rookie wizard with a single ambition: to find or create the Philosopher's Stone, a legendary magical item that is said to be able to cure any illness. As you do so, you will learn more than you ever imagined about Magic and about the world around you. What kinds of adventures await you?
Magic Research 2 shares some of the core features with Magic Research, such as the concept of researching or studying magic to learn new spells, or the battle system in Exploration. It also shares the same base UI, as it was built using the first game as a base. However, it is an entirely new game. The story, spells, Storylines, items, enemies, etc. are all completely different and built from scratch, and the game has more Storylines and is a little longer. There are also multiple hidden new features that were not present in Magic Research.
There are also countless changes from the original, which should vastly change the way you play the game. A little teaser on many things that have changed:
- Potions are not consumable and are used automatically.
- Inventory space is unlimited.
- You can automate item creation.
- Your spells become much stronger every 10 levels, without the need to unlock any Storyline first.
- Magic builds should be more viable early game.
- Storylines are easier to find: many are not random, and there is a hint system for them that unlocks within the first third of the game.
- There are many, many more synergies between equipment, and more ways to reach very high numbers, so there is a lot more complexity in builds.
- The list goes on!
Has anything changed since the initial release of the Demo version? Is there further development planned?
The Demo version has gotten an update, version 1.1, that tried to address several things. Among those are the addition of a "Quick Channeling" option to try and reduce the amount of presses needed for this common task.
An update, version 1.2, is planned shortly after launch. This is a much more substantial update with two new Storylines, which bring the total to 127, as well as many more quality-of-life features and improvements. It also includes an experimental setting for an alternative implementation for Land. The full version will release with 1.2 on the Steam beta channel.
After this update is released, development will most likely be centered on feedback from players for a bit as I try and improve the experience.
Can you play Magic Research 2 in languages other than English?
Although the game has a system in place to support translations, none have been made so far. Because of the sheer size of the script (more than 4000+ strings, estimating 70K+ words), it would be out of budget to commission a professional translation, so instead I'm opening up the strings file to crowd-translation efforts. There is a GitHub project with the base translation file and some details / instructions; if you'd like to try to translate Magic Research 2, there is a guide in the repository. Note that this file obviously has spoilers for the entire game! You might want to finish the game first; you have been warned!
How is support for screen readers?
I have personally tested the game using NVDA. The initial demo launch had some issues, several of which are addressed in 1.1. There are still some rough edges, and I'm happy to receive feedback on those. I'm hoping to address those in patches after 1.2. If you are interested in playing, I suggest you play and finish the free demo first; the full game continues on straight from there and will likely work the same way.
Does progress in the demo transfer to the full game?
Yes! The demo is essentially the beginning of the game, including the first 4~8 hours of content. If you decide to purchase the full game, your progress should transfer automatically. The demo is free, so if you're curious about the game or can't wait, you should check it out now!