I think Byzantium still existing is a foregone conclusion. English colonial wank is almost always there in some form. People seem to like colonial Scandinavia, Spain, and Purtugal as well. Less native American screw than OTL is usually preferable, and stronger black African nations too. Allot of people seem to like the Ottomans or some equivalent Turkish empire, though having that and Byzantium can be difficult. Russia usually ends up similar to OTL, though it rarely begins in Moscow in TLs. France is usually screwed, so at the very least France doesn't get any powerful colonies, but sometimes they get a prestige colony that takes up most of the Sahara. People like to have some kind of U.S. equivalent that breaks away from the motherland and becomes a power in its own right too. From what I've seen most people like to give Japan most of the Pacific, and China never gets colonies because they are already at least 20% of the world. India often is divided between a Hindu state, a Muslim state, and a colonizer, and sometimes the Muslims and Hindus are divided into smaller feuding groups.