the "funny" thing is, you are all right. at the same time.
people are happy to finally see new content after they waited for so long, and that hope exceeds the facts around whats really to be expected. And it sure is normal to expect some pay for your work, but thats not all. When you care about your projects, the excitement and love of the fans, admiration for your product is also a big thing. It feels much better to not just be paid but also see your work being appreciated. Obviously people are enthusiastic enough about the game to care; and sometimes enough to be disappointed too. Wear it like a medal! And piracy... well. its there and its kinda everywhere. Quality work will always get its credits.
As a Dev/Artist you may overthink if its the best idea to present "just" 0.01 stuff after fans waited for so long... that naturally causes disappointment, no matter how clear you were beforhand. Thats the downside of when people really want your stuff
And yes, there are studies suggesting piracy doesnt hurt a products success. But these were focussed on music & movies, not games -especially not independant games. So... Its probably alright to say, such sites as this one are useful to make your game known and then gather more patrons. But its really not the center of the universe and also not the center of income I d say (from experience).
So... 0.01 -better than nothing, right?
"too much to die, too little to live" xD