Damn you really nailed it. This is something that has bothered me a lot but I’ve never found a good way to explain it. Your analogy is perfect.

I bought Deep Rock Galactic, Subnautica, annd Satisfactory in early access and have no regrets. These are great games and I would rather pay to be a beta tester on them than play many AAA finished pieces of junk. I think in general it’s not a bad thing to be wary about early access but I’m not sure it warrants an all or nothing approach.