The plan was always to make a bigger game, CIG just didn't expect to get so much money so soon. The strategy was to raise enough money for something smaller in scope and then expand over time with funds raised from sales. The money poured in so quickly however that it was decided to bring a lot of long-term features in much sooner than planned, hence the delays in producing something resembling a finished game.
As for the time taken, they started in late 2012 with around 10 people. The current headcount is nearly 300 in four studios all around the world. It took two years to just build a team big enough to start delivering something in a reasonable timeframe. You can argue that there isn't much to show for it, but having played everything they've released since the beginning, I have witnessed the progress first-hand and it's been tremendous. This year in particular the pace of development has been very impressive. There have been three major content patches already this year plus a ton of bugfixes. The project is building momentum in a big way.
The biggest indicator for me though that the naysayers are talking out of their backsides, is that people with massive credibility in the entertainment industry place so much faith in the project. CIG have attracted top developers everywhere from EA to Crytek to Blizzard. Would so many people who develop games for a living really stake their career and reputations on a scam?
Time Warner Cable certainly thinks the project is worth talking about, which tells you people outside the gaming industry are starting to take notice.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ElvZm7pOIFs
Then there is the acting talent they've assembled for the single player campaign.
https://robertsspaceindustries.com/squadron42
Just look at that freaking cast list. Gary Oldman. Mark Hamill. Andy Serkis. Mark Strong. John Rhys-Davies. You're talking A-listers here, people who were obviously impressed enough by the potential of what they saw to risk associating their names with the project. Mark Hamill went so far as to say that when Chris Roberts phoned him and asked if he would consider the role, he didn't even bother asking for a script, he just immediately said yes based on his previous experience of working on Wing Commander.
When I watch dev interviews, I see a group of people that know they are working on something incredibly cool and are really excited about it. The doom and gloom crowd by contrast just regurgitate the same tired arguments over and over again, with no real evidence to back it up other than internet rumours.
Make of all this what you will. I back the project based on Chris Robert's reputation and my many happy hours of playing his previous games. I have not regretted it for a moment.
