[Cainehill]

Everyone is in the same boat. This is one of the worst UI 'features' in the game. Not only do you have to scroll through many many spells to get to the ones you want, but the location of the spells in the list varies from game to game.

Even with the same nation and pretender, if you don't follow the exact same research sequence. Infuriating and time consuming.

If the spells -were- grouped as you suggest, or in any consistent manner, it'd be a lot easier. Even better would be a multi-column display, allowing you to see more spells at once without scrolling, or multi-panel.

Or even just putting a selection of the most recently selected spells in a non-scrolling section. That way, when you've selected 4 spells already and suddenly realize you needed a different spell, or a different order, you wouldn't have to go hunting for the ones you'd already just picked.