I like to play with only 30% on land on my games, because I like to have the challenge of controlling oceans and continents distant from each other (not colonising the new world era 2), but I also like to play with 10 empires for more interactions, the problem is that each game I end up with half as many empires at the Middle Ages, since we are very close we fight very early and often.
If we could have the possibility to have a normal (not exterminate you neighbor as soon as you see it) game experience with 10 empires and a challenging ocean through bigger maps, it would be so cool I think.