Just want to note that most people here aren't against spending money on SC. I, like others, have money in the game and look forward to it when and if it releases. What I *do* think is foolish is continuing to throw money at CIG beyond that initial 'investment'. Everything that comes out of CIG smacks of entitlement to me -- they feel like they are entitled to your money, and that rather than it being a bond of trust, they can do what they please with it. If you get a game at the end of it, you should consider yourselves lucky. There's no contrition when they say they might have to release an MVP. They aren't saying sorry. They're really just saying "if you don't *want* just the MVP, give us more money". If you request a refund, they don't say "we're really sorry that you feel this way and we're making a concerted effort to deliver the product that you paid for", they say "won't you please think of the children who are going to starve because you took money from their pockets" or "the EULA you agreed to states no refunds, tough luck".
These arguments don't hold sway when they're treating their sales like a product (e.g. charging VAT). If you press them hard enough you'll get your refund, because they know that (at least in places like the EU) they can claim it's a donation as much as they like, but no court will accept that argument. The worrying thing is that they clearly have no contingency for refunds. The level of risk for anyone "investing" in this project is huge, and the directors at CIG share none of that risk. CR hasn't put his house on the line to deliver this game (as far as I know). If it goes belly-up, he'll walk away with a battered reputation and not much other damage, whereas thousands of backers will be left with holes in their wallets plugged only with fidelicious JPEGs and wistful regret.
Finally, just to reiterate. I have no plans to refund my pledge. I've put in what I think is reasonable for the product as specified at the start of the project. If CIG don't have enough money to deliver on their promises, despite at least twice claiming the game was fully funded, then that's on them.
