No, target never meant distance.
The "distance" for all spells has always been "if you can see it, you can hit it". Magic being an art of the mind, physical distance doesn't really matter. You can manifest your effect anywhere that you can point it.
Yes, that does mean you can use perception spells to cast other spells around walls or at great distances. I've always said that combinations of spells are even more powerful than single spells.
Of course, defending against such spells is easy - all you need is a perception blocker...
