Having tested a few games with the map, I agree with Calahan (no, he's not pointing a .44 at my head and forcing me to write this).
Some of the starting locations I received seemed really advantageous, while some were below average and presented some strategic difficulties at the same time.
I don't mind random maps, but fixed (at least on some level) starting locations are a must on them when playing MP.
PS. Looking at the start I just created, fixed locations would fix the possibility of crowded corners of the map etc. In this start, there's like 7 nations out of 12 packed in the southwest quarter of the map, and I have 3 nations' capitals 3 provinces away from my capital
