Is this entire expansion a bait-and-switch?

[Belhi]

It's a bait and switch if you were expecting just Ala Mhigo. God forbid you get more for your money lol??

That depends. I suspect the people who are worried are afraid that having both means that one or both won't be given justice and will end up getting just a token appearance or sidelined. Personally I am more interested in Ala Mhigo than Doma at the moment and for me as long as Ala Mhigo isn't just skipped over I wont mind but I can definitely understand why it bothers people. Sometimes more things involved means less of each.

[Altena]

Sorta nitpicking here, but it's more of a mountainous region, not a desert.

Aside from that, I'm mostly looking forward to seeing the Garlean architecture that was talked about in one of the previous fan fests.

Well yes, it is technically.. However desert has a nicer effect regarding the message I am trying to get across :P

"shirtless hunky dudes in the mountains" doesn't have nearly the same effect!

My current "image" of Ala Mhigo is Little Ala (which I know is nothing like the actual city based on concept art / screenshots / trailer etc).