I'm not a medium advocate, but this is what I want.

Big, big, big maps with TONS of AI players on it. Almost like a Nobunaga's Ambition style of game (large map, lots of factions)

As big as possible.. issues be damned!  

I tend towards the largest map sizes when I play strategy games. The more epic I can make a game, the better.

I like the biggest maps possible, more stuff going on and the most factions possible to create epic wars.

I play on Large maps with extended tech and arcane pacing, so I don't end up getting a tech advance and new spell every other turn in the mid-game.

I prefer huge maps, the bigger the better, like others. BUT, this is assuming 2 things: memory errors are not present, and that the land is unique and full of things to do. If memory errors are an issue, and if the world is empty, I'd just as soon choose a tiny map to get the game over with fast.

In general though, I prefer that epic feel over a smaller "island battle." To put it into shooter terms, I prefer the maps in Battlefield and BF: Bad Company 2 vs Call of Duty (epic vs meh).

Superhugeginormusganticcexpialadoshus

Yup... say that once out loud...

I would love Fall from Heaven 3.

Oh wait, is this the wrong thread for that?

Edit: Also, the poster directly above is also a man of taste and intellect for stretching out the tech pacing.

As large as possible + Difficult World Setting

Large maps with lots  of monster activity to fight through to place cities would make the game more fun for me.  I enjoy that part of the game - I always play Civ with raging barbarians, and I like to get as much a feel of having to fight for my ground as I can.  OOM errors suck, but it's worth the hassle at the moment. 

Only thing larger maps need (other than fixing the out of memory problem) is some kind of nerf to city spamming.

I like the large ones. It just feels more epic.

Larger!

Well I always in these games play on the largest size maps. I almost never play on anyother size map. In GalCiv2 and CIV 5 I've never played on the small maps. In AOW:SM I usally play on the Xtra Large maps and sometimes on Large anything smaller than that just does not have the epic feel. And yes when I play Multiplayer we always pick the largest map setting with the maximum AI and (if itis in the game GalCiv2 and Elemental) the maximum minor races avaliable.

Now I don't get OOM very much in Elemental these days but I have noticed that on the LArgest map setting they do come more often. Which is why I don't play Elemental too much these days (back to playing AOW:SM or GALCIV2 while waiting for FE to come out.)

as large as possible