Hello, I have been playing a bit of the beta since I got access 48 hours ago and I think I have nailed something on the head that seems to make a lot of my games seem frustrating. The random maps that get generated seem to have some (I find) annoying features:

1) They are very snake-ish (is that a word). I had one game where I started near the bottom of the map, had water and N/S/W so I explored E. Hit the map corner then I had room to go N. The whole world (on my side at least) was 3-4 tiles wide at best.

2) No room for cities. I often find that even if I get some decent exploring done quickly my first Pioneer is unable to found a city due to a few reasons. The 9 tile rule can be constricting if there is nearby AI. Not a lot of valid land. Sometimes there is 1 or 2 spots where I would be able to found a city but they have a very powerful creature right next door. 

I feel if the maps were more open with more valid land available to settle and a smaller minimum spacing then it would have more of an empire building type feel.

Overall the game seems great for a beta, still a bit of work to do but I have high hopes for the finished product! Keep up the good work.