Great idea. The Last contest was pure fun and helped me a lot.
I would prefer a small AI bonus but only one starting planet. There is no special reason behind this, it's just the way I play my solo games.
Some thoughts about the map:
It would be nice when the values of the asteroids belts could be more random. In your Last map all of them come with values of 100%. Creating planets for mining/refining/farming was almost impossible.
IIRC the old map contained only "specialized" systems. E.g. the first one had only planets with 140% minerals, 100% rads and orgs, the second one only planets with 140% rads, 100% minerals and orgs and so on. I would prefer systems which lead to the construction of different colony types as it is in the normal game.
Some planets came with values of 0% for mierals/rads and orgs. Again, this normally doesn't exist in the normal game and is a disadvantage for races who try to "diversify" their construction queues (building mining facilities on research compounds etc.) like the EEE for example.
Would it be possible to include the Khrel, an AI I'm currently working on? After peaceful gas giant races I tried bloodthirsty "rockies" and I would very much like to see how they work.