There was never really any doubt as to why they made the Au Ra females so ridiculous, but it is disappointing to learn that they considered a more reasonable take and declined because of their view of what the player base would want.
I disagree that making the new female race conventionally attractive is "giving the player base what it wants", in the sense that there already are conventionally attractive female options. It was a decision made because they want Au Ra females to be popular with that portion of the player base. That's really a bit of a different decision. They could have designed Au Ra in line with their original intent without it being bad customer service, and without reducing players' options.
I'm not saying its a good, or a bad one (though I do seem to recall saying early on that I assumed it would be a good decision using SE's own criteria), I'm just pointing out that its not so simple.
I disagree that making the new female race conventionally attractive is "giving the player base what it wants", in the sense that there already are conventionally attractive female options. It was a decision made because they want Au Ra females to be popular with that portion of the player base. That's really a bit of a different decision. They could have designed Au Ra in line with their original intent without it being bad customer service, and without reducing players' options.
I'm not saying its a good, or a bad one (though I do seem to recall saying early on that I assumed it would be a good decision using SE's own criteria), I'm just pointing out that its not so simple.