The face technology was made and is now used, so the stretch goal is achieved. The point of adding community faces is just a ginmick, and it was stated that they would do that only if that would prove feasible. Without having introduced the face technology at that point, it is fairly hard to predict how it would turn out. Yes, you can pay a lot of money for prototypes, feasibility studies and consulting and make a big project plan for a subset of a stretch goal, thus being able to predict more accurate, but I feel that shouldn't be the focus of game development ;-).
You never heard about advertising laws, have you?
Just compare the current AC alpha with what Molineux did. You might notice some differences in technology ;-).
And you think that it helps in your case? If Molineux is not able to release his promises in things that are with less graphical fidelity when adding them just for the sake to motivate money and clueless about his feasibility, how possibly you could think that the Star Citizen is a better case, when it is going to a much higher level of graphical fidelity in a MMO scenario? No. It just make even more unbelieavable that they will accomplish.
Oh, but that's the point of the whole endeavour. In gaming, almost everybody is unfamiliar with software development. The whole gaming industry lags about a decade behind the rest of the software industry. They don't know how to make use of current technology, they have no clue of software engineering, they are not creative (just look at home many titles have a number at the end) and they are not used to cater to their audience.
So while CIG now has to bridge the 10 year gap, combining game development with modern IT while also researching technical and business processes, having to devise a new universe with actual creativity, many things won't be smooth. But in the end, no one realistically expects that.
And again, if you think there is so much money in spare that somebody could really get rich from, just have a look at the number of their employees and compare with the usual IT salaries. Fact is: there isn't.
So... you are basically saying that people in the game industry does not have the skills (which is an absolute falacy, since there are plenty of teams more competent than CIG out there and delivering more than what they did in the same period of time), but earn just as people from the software industry?
LOL
You have a curious knowledge about the reality of the game industry, mainly in terms of salaries.
And most importantly... you have a curious perception of "the number of employees" that CIG claims to have. If you really have all this knowledge you would not jump to such poor-level conclusion based in marketing tales... You would not be so naive... We all know that CIG don't keep all them working at the same time. We all know that CIG has as the huge majority in this "count" that they announce for marketing purposes, thirdy parties and temporary work force (both cheaper). We all know that many of them are not even "developers". And you can be sure that they are counting even who already left, when stating in interviews such numbers.
And any person that really knows the game industry will know that you won't earn the best salaries if working for Cloud Imperium Games... instead, you will earn some of the lowest, since Roberts is the kind of guy that convinces everyone based in a good speech of "hey man, accept the challenge", and not by financial earnings.
Why do you think that the majority of people that moved there had in some form, a "past with Roberts", or were unemployed due recent lay offs, or were newbies winning a chance to learn about game development or the chance to work with their childhood hero?
I think that is really hilarious when I see this people claiming "oh, CIG has 300 employees, all top professionals, how much do you think that they cost" blablabla... Clueless people.
Have no idea of the reality of the game industry and most importantly, the reality of CIG itself, who does not even deny that took advantage of people that were laid off and in more than an occasion had one or two of their major leaders calling that they went there to the challenge or due their friendship with Roberts, not because a salary. No offense. But its just hilarious.
That's why will be so easy to Roberts to convince that "spend every dime in the development"... Because their public is simply... clueless and sometimes ignores even the things that CIG reveals in their own interviews and shows, accidentally or not, or simply, avoid to analyse what implies many things that they say.
He just needs to say... "yes.. I spent all the money"... and they will believe... while in fact, he saved a lot, hiring newbies, friends, cheap thirdy parties, cheap actors, because you only need and spend more money in a development, when you actually work in respect of a schedule, that if you do not respect, you don't receive any dime more and got your project cancelled.
Then, you need to go and only search for better and more productive professionals... while Roberts, can save a lot, training newbies and that even helps in his situation, considering that he naturally provokes more delays, and as more delays he got, more money he continues to milk from his backers with the ship sales...
and he knows that they are easily deluded by whatever he writes in a letter, regardless if it will contradict some previous letter. And yes, he knows that his game already passed from the point of no return and will "crash and burn" for the perception of the majority of the public that he was targetting, including those who already paid him...
that's why you see he embraces more and more who believes on him with blind faith, not really caring with game stats or any other number, except money gathered from a few... because it's his only hope for income... because nobody else really believes on him or on this project anymore, except his most excited fans (who contribute with the creation of additional accounts in their website to make their numbers raising)... all them highly invested and proud fans, which are not more than 5k-10k individuals...
obviously he has some hope that can use a good part of the money saved to make a stronger marketing campaign in the end, in the hope to get those that never heard about SC... but with internet and all, and so many years of cash grabbing... I highly doubt that until that point, basically everyone of the "target public" did not hear about it and already made their minds about really taking the effort to upgrade their machines to play a problematic game, while there are others that even not having so "fancy" level, delivers more fun than SC ever will be capable to match, more quickly, because always will take longer for SC to make those shinny little things that nobody cares in the end of the day, or at least, care much less than care about real playable features.
Did you see Far Cry or Crysis stealing the fidelity of Call of Duty or Battlefield? If you understand that, you will understand what I tried to say. Or shinny RPG's stealing fidelity of Warcraft? No pal... it's not so easy. People are just deluding themselves, both CIG and their fans, that "graphical fidelity" is the answer for everything and is all that people needs. It's cool... but hardly will be what will keep the fidelity or steal in definitive, the fidelity of other people. At least, in general terms.
Not all is the end of the world. By the way that they are doing, and the public that they gathered, even that tiny, they will be able to keep themselves, even with a failed game, with eternal slow development and features going to the vaporware scneario, that only a few proud fans care, by offering ship sales after release.
After all, those people are not really caring if 1% or 100% will end released. For some reason they like the "game of buying ships in jpeg format"... But still... will have the reputation of Piranha Games and never will be able to produce anything of more value using crowd-funding again (unless they change their names) and never will make even shadow to any Space Sim indie game that comes out.
It's sad. They just followed the wrong strategy. They would have more chances if probably had hired better professional to deal with their marketing plans, sales strategies, etc, focused to release a core of the game earlier, instead adding impossible promises, thirsty by a easy-mode to make money. The short-sighted, proud with zero experience personas that they put in charge of all that, and the own celebrity complex of CR, basically ruined something that could have a chance of success, if they worked with the feet in the ground, just like Frontier does.
It's good for the genre that Frontier is doing something in the right way, following reasonable steps and working without making customers went crazy in their investiment, and this way, not raising expectations too high (of everyone, not just of them). Because if they were not in the play here, the genre probably will not reborn, but will be dead for good, due the Roberts attitude. It already got a bad rep with publishers exactly due his past attitude... now... the same sentiment would be transfered for everyone... not just publishers... and I don't doubt that was already something that caused harm today... I highly doubt that any Space Sim will find resources through crowd-funding anymore, unless if asking a not anything beyond 500k (And still will be hard). Roberts is basically burning the genre as more he fails to deliver and more he milks people (at the same time).
