Honestly Ars Magica isn't comfortable with space as a concept. Whether you are talking about portals, trying to measure distances, or any other application.
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I have to say, it is super ironic that a game that actively includes layers of non-euclidean space and flexible magic guidelines, has difficulty with guidelines on what space magic covers, or how magic could be used to bend that space.
Indeed. One of the things our house rules are gradually expanding to take care of for us.
I think by the time you designed it as a Formulaic at the actual needed R/D/T parameters (I use 4th, no extra magnitudes for Requisites), it would be well below Ritual parameters. Especially if you make the "portals" an Imaginem side effect of the sigils of a particular line of magi. It then becomes, essentially, the guideline for taking control of someone's limb and hitting them with it (Re Co circa 10, Nobles' Parma).
Once the Formulaic is designed and mastered, then you can (house rule because it's implied in at least two editions) Fast Cast to your heart's content:)
I see this as a feature not a bug.
In some other games, somehow everyone has a natural protractor and calculator in their head to map the arrow distance; the fireball fries the enemy combatant, but not the ally in melee with him, etc. ArM doesn't have that.
Does my "ring" spell project up to the beginning of the heavenly sphere? What about a bird flying overhead? Has a magi in your world specifically tested this and written it down? Unless they have, you don't know. If your SG says extensive test have been conducted, it's whatever the SG says.
ArM has one thing in common with Champions. It needs a SG to say, "Seriously? Now you are just pushing your luck. Clearly the answer is no."
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Yes. Whatever the saga will bear goes. And by all means, if there are things your troupe wants to do that aren't covered in the spell guidelines, write a few of your own! Or take ones that are only listed for one Art combination and apply them to others that make sense to you, e.g. most Muto guidelines listed for any of the Four Elements should, IMO, be listed for all four with appropriate changes to wording as necessary.