I just rolled a large test map with 4 opponents and this time didn't get a neighbor.  But there was a resource cluster right about where a neighbor would be.  The cluster was two shards and a fertile.  Had it been a fertile, 1 shard, and a gold or something, I wonder if an opponent would have spawned there?  Makes me wonder if we get the near neighbors because resource clusters spawn near us?  If the cluster is choice enough, an AI is spawned in it?  I've no clue what parts of map spawns occur when.  Or if any normalization factors are present.  But if feels to me that map scripting needs a bit of improving.  It'd be my guess that it was always intended to be improved upon as other aspects of the game were stablized.  If so, then maybe now is the time for it.  ?

Yeah I've had a few of these too, the worst one is I spawn on an ISLAND with a pretty bare bones resource start and then find I can't even build a second city because literally 10 tiles north is Yithril (who had somehow gotten the sword of wrath 15 turns in )

Although I think it almost runs a series of patterns when it spawns factions.  My most recent game saw ME sandwiching another faction (Capitar) against the ocean, and Altar and Magnar were each given 1/3 of the continent to themselves.

This is actually the problem I have with most of my recent games the last few patches. I get a whole giant area with few resoures and large spaces between them, and have to work for over 100 turns to find an opponent.

I started another large map with 8 opponents.  Didn't have anyone in the 15-20 range this time.  But didn't have any resources either.  Nearest resources were once again at my neighbors capital.  Was just a bit further away this time.  This isn't good.  This is a big problem.  I think v1.1 needs to see a fix for this.  I think this fix supercedes feature lockdown.   The resource situation makes the game hollow.  Despite a whole bunch of awesome updates, I have enjoyed the v1.09e build better.  I certaintly played it a great deal more than all the later versions put together.  I don't want to say that because of all the great work the team has done.  It's really good stuff they've been doing.   But the resource problem undermines it all.  The map is the foundation of the game.  Everything happens on it.  A poor map script makes for a poor game.  The AI was weak in v1.09e, but there was reason to explore.  The player had early game choices to make.  Now the choice is limited to how you will prosecute the near obligatory war.  It's kind of like the Beacon of Hope building...  there is no other choice available.  It is obligatory.  Obligatory actions bite the big one.