A silly question, but I cannot figure out how to do "normal" research over time. When I click on a research topic, I only see the Buy now button, which instantly gets me the research I want. However, the manual states I can also do research over time, which should be cheaper. Unfortunately it doesn't tell how to do this. So, how do I?

I haven't found any way to do that so far. It looks like you just buy it outright in the release version.

Glad I'm not the only one. Too bad if it was removed, though... It would add another small layer of preplanning. Now you sort of can just hoard research points and buy stuff on a need-it-now basis.

I find it's best not to hoard them as a general practice. Saving up for a specific purchase is okay, but your opponents won't be hoarding and you don't want them to be upgrading while you're stagnating.

(You also can't hoard in chapter 1 of the main campaign - if your gold or research gets above a certain level then it starts getting pilfered.)

I just spent the last half hour trying to do "normal" research, I tried clicking, drag and dropping, right clicking, re-reading the manual, etc... to no avail.

Glad to see I didn't miss something obvious. If they removed the feature, it would have been nice to have put a little "readme" file listing the differences between the manual and the final game...

Didn't even know that was supposed to be like that. When I clicked on the research/magic and saw you had to "buy" it, it was clear how it works for me. I can see how other people could get confused, though.

The confusion mainly came from the fact that both the manual and the "Let's Play" video presented research as a process that normally occurred over several turns at base cost and could be rushed for an added cost.