I agree with this:

Expand the race distinctions and provide more assets and code to support players creating their own custom factions made up by their own custom races.

More customization is always more fun, it will give the game a longer life spam and more strategic options.

Its my opinion of course.

I would definately go for:

Expand the race distinctions and provide more assets and code to support players creating their own custom factions made up by their own custom races.

We need unique factions/races that play differently. And to achieve that, I think it is an illusion that some background lore from a few creative writers on contract is the answer. The answer lies rather in the game mechanics, this is a game after all. The least priority for making this the greatest strategy game should in my view be put on background story lore. Artwork is more important. But most important are the game elements, e.g. will you be able to make a race with wings or not? With IMPORTANT and unique special abilities or not? The customization, as already stated elsewhere so many times, is what will keep the game on the harddrive, not the campaign or story.

Also, try to look at what made MoM and AoW into popular games. It was not the story lore I would say, but rather the races/factions that lpayed out very well.  

Perhaps, but realize that the amount of customization available to those games was essentially zero.

If we're just twisting ourselves over the need to be able to graphically represent winged dudes vs. non-winged dudes vs. pointy eared dudes then I think we're wasting our time and Brads.

The factions should (hopefully) be differentiated enough from each other in terms of how they play (as opposed to simply how they look) that this quibble over 'races' becomes meaningless.

Other than for the hard core peeps who can't play without winged dudes fighting pointy eared dudes.

Personally i would vote for more race assests and more factions customization even if it meant less artwork and lore for the built in factions.

I would like it that it be made very easy for the regular player to customize your faction. It is part of the fun imo to build up your own faction, and as DamnedChoir put it "If I want to be a race of armor-lovin' miners and smiths, or tree-hugging archers, or fire-wielding wizard-folk, I should be able to".

Even though this question hasn't been raised i believe a good solution might be to go for more race distinctions assets etc.. (ex the second option in frogboy's post) and reduce the number of factions available (for example to 6) to have them more fleshed out. If faction customisation is easy, the number of built in factions would be less important: it should be possible to save them and have them become potential enemies next game around.

Eh?

Who says you need wings to fly?  Who says all winged dudes can fly?

I think you miss the fact that it doesn't matter what it looks like, it matters what choices there are to make the game play.

*If* the factions are indeed unique in interesting game play ways then all of this moaning about 'races' is purely cosmetic.

Does that mean you shouldn't have the option to make your winged men?  Not at all.  It means that taking time now from developing the rest of the game, such that you can make your winged men immediately, seems to be putting the cart infront of the horse.

True! *stares at his avatar* [Sorry for going OT, I couldn't resist!]

Looks and game play must go together to a large extent to keep players happy. If I want a faction of bird men, I do want to see their wings. Not just a human peasant that can move anywhere on the map. I thought that was pretty obvious. So you are wrong when you say that factions unique in gameplay makes "moaning about races purely cosmetic". By the way, cosmetics is very important for attractiveness, and should not be scoffed at!

PS:  Now that I think we have a firmer understanding of what, precisely, you are proposing, perhaps we could have it in poll form? (Also now that from the prior one, most people understand how to find such polls now. )

I'm in favor of the lore.  As much as I value customization (and I do), I want the worlds in which I play to be rich, more than settings for moving my pieces around.  I want to have background that allows me to imagine motivations for my sovereign beyond power, and not cut those notions from whole cloth.  Give me a world with lore that's solid and complete, and I'll give myself so much fiction my Kindle purchases will drop off for months.

Basically I see Frogboy's question as this....

Do you want a Explanation as to why (insert faction name here) lives by the ocean? Or do you want to be able to make a race with fish fins and gills?

Do you want to know why (insert faction name here) lives near mountains? Or do you want to be able to make a race with wings?

What sounds more fun? Knowing why someone lives near water or playing as fish people?

Note: the fish thing was just a example.

 Expand the race distinctions and provide more assets and code to support players creating their own custom factions made up by their own custom races

I would have to say this option would be both something that would make the game interesting and more involved. Mabey I could suggest Templates that would let people start with major stats allready in and then just be able to tweak minor stats, for all the pople who want just some custimization.

Oh come on, now you're just silly. That's not what frogboy ment and you know that. There is more difference here then "just some writing" on one side and omfg dozens of playable races on the other side.

Personally I'm strongly in support of well fleshed out stock races. It's just more fun to crush an interesting opponent then random fantasy race no. 234 with pointy ears and who sparkly in the day.