Im not fond of these early access deals either, its putting all the risk on the gamer, little on the developer. They have complete freedom to change the rules, and call it done then move on to their next project, they dont need to worry about selling a poop game to pay back their funding, they get paid however it turns out.
That said, i've never felt SC in the same way, im not sure why. It probably helps having joined 14mo in, last Feb, so theres more info, a better understanding of their work ethic and their respect for their community.
The funding aspect might rub some the wrong way, but there is no profit for SC, zero. Its all paying wages and various expenses. Could they stop at $20m, probably, but there would be half the staff working on it, there'd be stuff they simply couldnt do in a sensible window or within the funds for wages. What we're seeing, as more people contribute is more workers, able to expand the idea. Theres a degree of feature creep, and it adds complexities and that'll slow things down, but IMO, Elite Dangerous is a great example of 2 processes, they've almost built a game in a pretty short timeframe, and it looks impressive, vast and it'll be a game game for those who loved the original... but its lacking so so much that SC is bringing.
Theres nothing wrong with it, but if SC only managed $20m by completion, then it'll be with a small handful of ships, it'd be with generic feeling planets you see from a distance, with identikit space stations etc.
50 modelled ships (probably 75-100 by release), planets you can walk around, ships which are real, fps combat, multicrew ships and NPC crew, space which has atmosphere rather than simply blackness with stars and planets etc.
The difference between them is like a crowd funded game and a AAA game, which happens to be crowd funded.
Nobody needs to pay more than $35 for the game, even if some pay hundreds or thousands, but its what is ultimately the difference between SC and ED. Ive put more than enough in, but it isnt really going to change my experience any more or less than someone elses. If theres 10m spent paying ppl to make 75 ships, we'll all get to experience that, with a $35 or $3500 pledge (or simply buying it after release) so i see more money as being more content, more staff working in an industry they love, making a game without a publisher overlord pushing them to do things half-baked.
It might seem crazy people spending thousands on virtual ships, but the vast majority are likely comfortable enough to do so, and are wanting SC to be a huge success because its something they've only been able to dream about for so long. Companies like EA didnt want to touch SC, and for many helping to pay to make it happen is a small price to pay. But everyone benefits, regardless of how everyone feels about the whole CF process and 'buying virtual ships'.
