I'm not going to talk about the spells currently available or what they could be, I'm aware that there are many spells planned that aren't available for testing yet in this build of the beta.
What I'm not sure of is whether or not the current system is a place holder, or if they have something more in mind and have yet to implement it outside of an internal build.
As of now:
-You gain points every turn, spells cost X points, purchase spells when you have enough points.
-Beyond the small number of spells available, which books of magic (fire, air, etc) you choose when creating your sovereign determines which ones are available.
-The main limitation keeping you from researching very powerful spells early on, is the max number of spell points you can accumulate. If a spell costs more then you can currently gain, then you have to first research the tech that increases your max spell points.
-To cast a spell you need mana and possibly one or more shards.
What I like:
-Spell availability being linked to choices made at your sovereigns creation.
-The correlation between Essence and Mana. At least, there seems to be a connection.
-Shards limiting spell casting.
-Spell research interacting with Tech research.
What doesn't feel right:
-The spells available for research only coming from the spellbooks chosen at sovereign creation. If you make a sovereign with no spellbooks checked, the spell research tab is a sad barren place.
-Having to scour the map for a particular shard so that you can cast a spell you just researched. I can create forests, now if only I could create earth shards.
-Spell points and the current method of researching spells. Simple isnt a bad thing, but this feels too simple, and I feel as if I'm wasting a resource (spell points) if I'm not constantly checking to see if I can research a spell.
Thoughts for improvement:
-I'd like to see the spell research system work more like the tech, spell points go into a type of magic (fire, aire, etc), and then a list of possible spells pops up for you to choose from when a breakthrough is made.
-Instead of requiring a specific type of shard, spells would require a specific number of shards. Spells of a certain elemental alignment or combination of elemental alignments would get a bonus of some kind if you have the corresponding shard type. For instance; Fireball would require X mana and 1 Shard, allowing it to be cast as long as I have 1 of any type of shard being harvested. If I control fire shard(s) the spell would do more damage, or cost less mana, or have a larger area of effect, etc..
-Spellbooks chosen at creation would determine which higher level spells would be available to the player. There would be a base set of spells available to all players, with a secondary set of spells and ultimate spells available if you chose the corresponding spellbook(s). I think it'd be appropriate that if this approach was taken, a player who picks up the Book of Air Magic, could not also select the Book of Earth Magic. And there would be a possible Book of Universal Magic being available at a hefty point cost (60 points?).
-More interaction between the spell research system and other game mechanics. Such as a spell only being attainable via a quest, with the first player to complete it having the option of keeping it to themselves (maybe for a limited time) or to trade the knowledge with other players (like a trade good, only the discovering player could trade it).
Wandering and elaborated ideas:
Spells would have specific elemental types (just like they do now), owning a shard of a corresponding type would increase the spells power in a specific manner. Some spells would require one or more shards to be cast, the shards would not need to be of the same elemental type as the spell (save for ultimate spells perhaps?).
Beyond their elemental types, spells would be categorized into Simple, Fundamental, Advanced, Master, and Ultimate Spells. Unlocking each ranking would be tied to a tech in the magic tree; research Spell Theory (tech) -> Fundamental Spells unlocked in the spell tab for discovery. All players would start with Simple spells available for discovery, and could research for access up to Advanced spells. Master and Ultimate spells would be reserved for players with the corresponding spellbooks.
Discovering new spells is similar to researching a tech, you select a school of magic (fire, air, etc.) and that school will accumulate points until it gains a level and a breakthrough is made, giving you a selection of spells from those available for discovery. Alot like the tech research mechanic.
Beyond just researching magic, a player could also research meta-magic, aka abilities that alter the way their spells function. These meta-spells could be activated at the players discretion for a more potent spell albeit at a cost of some kind. Perhaps your fire spells are more intense and set units on fire for a number of round, but the caster takes damage himself. Or your teleportation spells can work outside their normal boundries (to anywhere instead of just your territories) but they also cost twice as much mana. Meta-magic could also require a shard of the proper elemental type to work, so you could only use your fire meta-magic if you had control of a fire shard.
Players could undertake quests to unlock rare spells, learn new meta-magic abilities or to acquire a spellbook they do not already have. These quest spells could be much like a rare resource, that only the discovering player would have access to for a time, giving them the option to use it as an advantage, or to trade it for riches and more before its available to the world.
Anywho, thats my wall of text, hope you find some useful information/ideas in it.