King Arthur II Developer Article Series, Part Three

A third "features in detail" article is up over at the official King Arthur II forums, and this time we learn more about the importance of strategic locations, the revised magic system, and more.  Here's a bit to get you started:
The heroes of Britannia are no ordinary warriors. Chroniclers praise their legendary deeds- how they fight with incredible vigour and smite down their enemies with terrible blows. Some heroes perform heavenly miracles or have learned the ways of ancient wizardry. They possess abilities that affect everyone in their vicinity or even the whole army.

The spells in King Arthur II can be passive, which means that they always grant benefits, or active, meaning they cost Mana. Spells can have an instant effect (Winds of the North) or they can require time to be cast (Fireball), and they can last for a fraction of a minute (Lightning Bolt) or they might have a duration (Venomous Curse). All of them, however, have a cooldown value, which determines how soon they can be used again.

Some of the more powerful spells require time to be fully activated and they can't be cast while the hero is involved in melee combat. When an enemy hero begins casting such a spell, you will receive a notification. And here comes the best part: spells and skills that have a casting time can be breached! If the caster is interrupted while activating the spell or skill, he won't be able to finish it. He stops weaving the spell, and while it won't have any effect the spell's Mana cost will still be lost.
In semi-related news, I noticed that the game still isn't available on Steam, despite the fact that it was supposed to be out on January 10th. We didn't get a delay announcement, either.