Oh, and some extra information for those interested:
Size: 128
Number of players: 8 (1,2,3,4 versus 5,6,7,8)
Height factor: 3 (half of the default)
Water level: 4 (default)
Cliff level: 7 (default is no cliffs)
Number of starting resources per player: 3 stone, 3 gold, ~55 wood
There's a total of eight cliffed and/or moated resource havens with 9 gold and 9 stone. The inner four resource havens have no trees (I think this should be improved on for balance purposes) while the outer four resource havens have ~15-30 trees (the northern-most and southern-most are the best). Further, there are two open resource havens (far north and south) with 3 gold, 3 stone, and ~100 wood. They'll be harder to defend, though, since they lack the means to funnel attackers. As mentioned, the four cliffed/moated bases closest to the center don't contain trees, but there are large groups of trees (~60) outside the bases, but mostly towards the direction of the opposing team (meaning your workers would be in front of the base). This means that defence is hardest for whoever holds the inner four bases (so players are best off expanding before their allies, to ensure they get one of the two optimal bases).
In terms of the two teams, the map is well balanced, but in terms of factions, the map is rather unbalanced. The first two of the four players to expand will get better bases, as they have trees inside the base. The slower two players will have to contend with more difficult to reach trees or set up a base at the north or south, which is harder to defend and have less gold and stone. I can't help but feel that this turns players against their team mates, since it's a competition to get the better position.
Even further, not all the fortified bases are equal. Three of the eight have two entrances while the rest have three entrances. Granted, all the bases with only two entrances lack trees, but they'll be slightly easier to defend to make up for that. Only one entrance leads towards the opposing team, and it's shared with the next base, which makes it easier to combine forces with an ally in that base. The other entrance is closest to your starting point, which should make it much easier to defend with scouts (not to mention it'd be rather difficult to sneak a large force around the bases; impossible if the outside two bases are properly defended).
