Is there development timeline really that absurd though? I'm sure there are plenty of AAA titles that have taken this long to get out the door, they just leave the announcement till sometime just before it's ready. I know that development times have drastically decreased in the past 10 years but still... I'd be skeptical if studio told me they were taking any LESS time with something this big.

Editing to add that we're not even mentioning the fact that they are basically building a global development company with studios sprinkled all over the US and EU to keep up with the new funding expectations, those things don't happen overnight.

> Is there development timeline really that absurd though?

It's not clear to me what their development timeline is, although constant Alpha releases are promising.

> Editing to add that we're not even mentioning the fact that they are basically building a global development company...

I think this is where a lot of the risk exists. Normally a development studio grows by successfully releasing games (in terms of money). Star Citizen is in uncharted waters in that regard.

That second point is true, though it's worth pointing out that the company has a tonne of experience in game development and a few other fields such as film production so I feel like it's a little different from a nobody startup trying to manage it all for the first time.

>Your expectations are probably in line with reality

I think this is the key. A lot of people are sucked into the idea that kickstarters are a sure thing, but you can't spend money that way. Kickstarter isn't a place to buy stuff, it's a place to throw money away and maybe get something cool out of it.