I personally prefer non-wrap maps to wrap, m'self, heh. Wraparound gives me a lil'bit of a headache. Left is right, up is down, etc., etc.
Re: Map settings: I'd also be throwing in for higher than base site frequency ('cause that makes things more interesting) and common events (ditto). In the event of a catastrophic early event, maybe there'd be room for one or two mulligan chances -- basically, if someone gets event wrecked on turn three, we restart or roll back a turn (if that's possible and changes event RNG).
I'd kinda' vote for score graphs on, given the amount of beginners we have... it'd take a little pressure off micromanaging scouting and whatnot. On the other tentacle, low-experience folks have a harder time meaningfully interpreting the graph info, so it might be just as much of a boon to leave 'em off. Big advantage for team two, though, in that case... recruitable flying scouts are glorious.
Definitely 10 or 15 hall of fame slots and limited artifact forging. Not really an opinion on anything else. So long as renaming is on by default for something like this, heh.
Map wise, I wouldn't exactly mind Valanis, though sweet zeus would that put the tentacled dudes in a position. Though, can I make the request any non-default maps recommended come with a link, so we can look at it? Search can find it fairly quickly, but it saves a little time.