You can't use /target to target anything out of range anymore. Though, I don't think it would hurt for us to add in a status check to allow it for GMs. Maybe even a rule that lets you set what status is required to be able to target stuff that is out of range would be a good way to do it. That way, if people want to allow their players to /target for zone-wide group invites, you could just set the rule to require status 0 or greater.
For now, there is a simple way to handle out of range stuff and that is just to use /goto (not #goto) along with part of the name of the NPC or player you are wanting to target and manipulate. By using /goto <npcname>, you can go to any NPC in the zone fairly easily. You can also use /goto <playername> to go to any player on the server, no matter what zone they are in.