Part of the issue I think stems from framing the EA as Act 1. It makes it so much more difficult to revisit or change anything once you've primed the player to think that this is the start of the story more or less fully realized.
I often wonder if they had described it differently initially, if the reaction to it might be a bit different?
If they had said something like 'In EA we're allowing players to preview Act 2, but the funhouse version of Act 2. Everything here is a placeholder and subject to change. The encounters aren't necessarily levelled and the companions you have in EA aren't necessarily the companions you'll meet in the full game. It's a bit of a mad science experiment, and building as we go, but we wanted to pull back the curtain a bit to give you a peek. Don't expect that what you see is what you'll get in the end. That said, your feedback is highly appreciated!'
Then people would probably approach it in a completely different way, with a much more forgiving attitude. Instead of seeing dashed hopes or disappointments at every turn they'd be more inclined to evaluate it as existing in a state of flux, and then the developers would have a lot more freedom to alter things without rocking the collective boat in each new iteration.
I wish they had done this in Patch 2 and then again in patch 3. Just shaking the box so the pieces would mix up again and people would adapt to the idea that it's a rough draft or a rough outline, rather than a final draft. Instead by calling it "Act 1" they gave the impression that this is the deal, and any changes are likely to just be peripheral. It sets up a situation rife for disappointment, or when any suggestion of change at this point would somehow betray the ultimate vision or intention. We're basically seeing the dailies with none of the sound or music or editing finished yet, and extrapolating from that what the final film will look like, with all the attendant attachments or disattachments that a preview of that sort entails.
Some people may feel its moving inexorably in the right direction, other's thinking no no no this is all wrong. Whereas all that could have been avoided if they just presented it in a different sort of light at the outset. I think there is still time for them to adopt that sort of angle, but then again players who are very attached to the current iteration may find that unsatisfying at this point. A bit like a knife in the back for the most ardent BG3 fans who have totally bought in and love it as is. Not sure what they can do with it really.
