I'm not entirely in agreement here. While there was undoubtedly some internal motivation at work (as publishing subpar code just doesn't sit right), I believe a significant portion of it was external, and I don't see that as a negative. During the polishing phase, I had two primary goals: first, to lower the entry barriers for people who wanted to try it out, and second, to expand its capabilities as much as possible (e.g., enabling it to run on a laptop rather than a high-powered desktop, without any frame drops). I view this less as an attempt to impress others, and more as an effort to enhance utility and thus broaden the potential user base.

I do see the tradeoff between spending more time discussing the project vs perfecting its technical aspects though. This can be tough for us techy folks who don't really like evangelism. In this respect, I believe academics and technical founders face quite similar challenges.

On another note, the feedback in the replies here has been incredibly uplifting, and I want to express my sincere gratitude for that.