I'm not feeling cool with buying an unfinished game (inb4 angry & negative comments) and not having the whole thing until a year later. Why the delay? You're already using your fans as testees anyway? Lots of people were looking forward to this only to get half of a game and pay for the thing full price.
If you feel that way you should absolutely wait for the full release - I, for one, don't know yet when I will be purchasing the game.
Game is not delayed - it is not finished.
Saves compatibility - it is not a game preview, it is a test build. It is for people who want to test mechanics and provide feedback. It misses companions and likely a decent chunk of content. The whole thing will be overhauled before it hits 1.0. Some EA games lends themselves more naturally to EA then others. For RPG with story and linear progression it doesn't. What you get is opening chunk of the game to explore mechanics, systems etc. It will spoil the experience somewhat. If you are not up for it, then don't play Early Access.
Full price - again, it depends how you see it. I personally don't like when games charge less for Early Access game. Why? Because I feel pressured to buy in early to get a better deal. I understand that EA doesn't provide value of full game. THAT'S FINE. You are not expected to participate. There is nothing to gain from participating, and you loose nothing by waiting. Larian is actively discouraging people from participating, if EA is not what they are interested in. Those players should wait for final release.
And yeah, EA release can be abused like many other practices which rely on trust. Still, Larian proved already that they treat EA seriously and take a good advantage of it. EA makes their games better. But if playing a rough early build and providing metrics/feedback isn't something you want to do - then wait for full release.
