[Gandalf Parker]

I cant think of the names of the games specifically. Maybe later I can dig up some threads. But as a lover of big maps (really REALLY big maps) I do tend to notice big-map games.

If I remember right complaints tend to be
A) people quitting at the end due to micromanagement
B) people who dont like that the end-game is decided by magic instead of armies
C) certain favorite nations have balancing points which make their use and preferred strategies very difficult on large maps

I can see all of the points but wouldnt consider them to be game killers. Some people hate that someone has a "win" by outlasting those who cant handle micromanagement but the argument works just as well against army or sc wins in small games. And Dom3 is designed to go from army to research to magic for deciding the one god. And personally I like seeing at least some big-map games because they help mediate some of the "everyone knows" caused by so many games being played the same way on the same maps. Some nations have strengths and strategies that only work well with large games.

HOWEVER some things you might add to your consideration...

1) Maps with lots of chokepoints or limited battlefronts can cut down on micromanagement.

2) Maps that are NI or PI (no independents or partial independents) also helps cut MM

3) If your interest is in taking giant armies all the way to the end then you might consider that Kristoffer created 2 mods early on which cut off all magic at level 4 or at level 6.

I wouldnt recommend that all Dom3 games be played on large maps but I think they have their following