Of course it's by no means certain that CIG are capable of "making it right", even given all the time and money in the world. Roberts ultimately failed to make Freelancer "right", hasn't produced a game since, and CIG have no track record at all. And 2.6, representing five years of development and however much of the $140m they've already spent, doesn't inspire much confidence either.
In Chris Roberts defence, he was removed from that because "making it right" would take too long, and cost too much.
If he had been given the time and money, he very likely could have indeed "made it right". It is also possible he might still be working on it.
Chris Roberts CAN deliver the game he has promised. That won't be the game mentioned with Kickstarter. But the expanded, bigger, better game he is promising now.
He and CIG are fully capable of delivering that game.
The problem is that what they are now promising has ballooned so much in scope and size that it is going to take much, much more time and money than CIG initially bargained for. Looking at games of similar or lesser scale and scope - GTA5 and SWTOR - those took established, experienced studios with fully working toolkits 5 or 6 years to develop and cost between $130 and $200 million to develop. Never mind actually marketing the games. CIG would be having a much easier time if they had decided to release the game they had initially promised first...and then expanded it with all their stretch goals.
That's what Elite is doing...they launched with a viable game and are expanding it. It has flaws, and problems, but no one is also holding them to the hype and expectations of a $140 million (and climbing) budget. It has good graphics, great sound and music, and if I personally think it's too soon for the aliens to show up (I'd prefer the human factions to be fleshed out a lot more first) I can't deny the impact of the First Contact and how well it came off.
But as for what CIG have promised....given time, it can be programmed. But time requires money and money requires funding from the backers. And backers require results, even from a Crowdfunded game. But where CIG have made a big mistake - IMO - is to keep hyping expectations. They have a game that will require another 3 years at least to develop, possibly more, but thanks to their mismanagement, their backers want it NOW!!
And disappointed backers who aren't getting their game now are starting to turn their backs on CIG. And some of CIGs actions recently do seem to indicate that they have less money available than they might be comfortable with.
So - can CIG deliver the game? Yes. If they can continue their funding. If they can't, then they'll have to make cuts somewhere, to bring the dream back to reality. And worst case scenario, they won't be able to deliver at all. And of course, even were they to deliver, all the money spent can guarantee that the game will be good or fun. What they have right now shows a certain degree of promise....but it is far from perfect and needs a LOT of improvement.
