Many thanks guys 
Should be fixed in the latest version now (ThinkOfDeath pulled the PR).
Issue was worldmaps were getting saved in the world they were created, then the map could not be found on the main world, which resulted in a new map with zoom=3 being created.
In my initial clean-Spigot test it occurred in the main world. It has since been limited to secondary worlds, Fear. Glad you were able to find the cause though.
PR-149 craftbukkit* my bad. (Unable to edit my previous comment it seems).
Confirmed - it does it in secondary worlds. (Please mention this next time!!)
Submitted PR-109 to fix this issue.
Many thanks
Where can I find that fork?
Currently 2.5-b691, though someone forked MV-Core and made a special 1.8 commit which I want to try out at some point - just needs to be downloaded and compiled.
What version of Multiverse Core are you running Matt? We're running 2.5-b678 (not the latest which is 691).
Definitely odd - exactly why he tested it though, it seemed like the most likely cause.
Confirmed - maps work fine in Spawn but not in other worlds.
Odd though that your friend didn't have the issue on a clean install with Multiverse-Core, otherwise we could have blamed that :/
Since initially noticing this issue, it has disappeared from the blank Spigot server I tested it on, but just like David I'm still getting this on my plugin-filled server.
I'm running git-Spigot-b43a31a-7bc218d with
Plugins (63): CleanroomGenerator, DefaultChestNames, ArmorStandTools, BukkitSpeak, WMABroadcast, SpongeRecipe, BukkitIRCd, AnchoredPortals, Privileges, PowerMOTD, W4, AsyncWorldEditInjector, TitleManager, WorldEdit, FixGhastAim, uSkyBlock, SurvivalGames, WorldBorder, RoyalDeath, MiniFixes, Creepair, GeoIPTools, LegendarySpawnEffects, Multiverse-Core, SleepNotifications, NoCheatPlus, NCore, SignEdit, AsyncWorldEdit, ImageOnMap, UltimateSkyGrid, Plotty, SQLibrary, StandardBooks, AnimalProtect, ActionAnnouncer, ColoredAnvils, CustomCommands, WizardPortals, WorldGuard, NTheEndAgain, Multiverse-Inventories, Multiverse-NetherPortals, HawkEye, FirstJoinPlus, AntiXRay, LimitedWorldEdit, HorseProtect, MobArena, Duties, RoyalChat, monkeysLockette, RoyalCommands, WirelessRedstone, Vault, ScriptBlock, DeathControl, ButtonWarp, Paintball, ZeeSlag, CommandSigns, ColoredTags, VanishNoPacket
Here's where it gets strange though - maps are created fine in the main world (in my case, "spawn") but not in other worlds - like survival or creative.
A friend tested with a clean install and JUST Multiverse-Core but did NOT have the issue on secondary worlds.
Sorry, I meant git-Spigot-b43a31a-20c65ca
Vanilla blank builds don't have the issue, but upgraded servers seem to. I've been unable to reproduce it on a new fresh build with no existing data, but on our existing servers I can.
[00:53:30 INFO]: [PlugMan] Plugins (40): BlocksHub, Buycraft, CleanroomGenerator, ClearLag, CommandRegister, CompatNoCheatPlus, EchoPet, Essentials, EssentialsAntiBuild, EssentialsChat, EssentialsProtect, EssentialsSpawn, MineActivity-Core, Minetrends, MiniItems, Mithril-AutoMessage, Mithril-Bans, Mithril-Commands, Mithril-Creative, Mithril-Lib, Multiverse-Core, NametagEdit, NoCheatPlus, NoEntityItems, PermissionsEx, PlotMe, PlugMan, Prism, ProtocolLib, Smileys, TerrainControl, TitleManager, Top, Vault, Votifier, VoxelSniper, WorldBorder, WorldEdit, WorldEditSelectionVisualizer, WorldGuard
I've been going through plugins but I fail to see how a plugin could be causing it?
Multiple people tried to reproduce this without any result. Please check your plugins or atleast give us a list of plugins.
Also your version number seems invalid?
Hello,
I work for MineActivity and we are using Spigot 1.8 - git-Spigot-b43a31a-20c65a
We have exactly the same problem - maps start zoomed out - very zoomed out. At least level 3/4.
You may connect to our server and try to build maps to see the results!
Please can you re-open this issue?
Tested again on git-Spigot-d5bf866-b73cfb0 and I'm still getting this issue.
Attempted to reproduce on latest build and on vanilla. Both the results on vanilla and spigot were the same and this bug did not appear.
I did however come across a other issue, which I will attempt to fix.
Edit issue I came across is fixed in CraftBukkit PR 39.