Well, Star Citizen does have playable alpha/beta builds out just like Exanima does (which is basically an early, more limited in scope version of SG). I'm fairly certain Madoc does not want to sell people something they can't get their hands on since people are already complaining about not being able to play SG yet despite backing it on Kickstarter... even though Exanima is basically a playable early version of SG.
The core game in Star Citizen isn't playable - far from actually - however, everything I purchase now will be available to me in the alpha/beta build and in the final game. In other words, money I invest now grants me entrance to the final, complete product.
In the case of Exanima: I don't mind putting money in a beta or prelude, but I would like to know - or at least have an understanding - how much the final game will 'set me back' financially on top of my purchase of Exanima.
This is why he hasn't been promoting either game at all really; he wants to wait until Exanima is nearly feature complete before doing so in order to allow people to judge the game in its entirety and not on an incomplete build that is lacking important mechanics/features. As long as they have enough funds to continue development they don't want to push for sales or have widespread advertising/promotion, they prefer to remain under the radar for the time being.
I know how hard it is to 'sell' games in development. Consumer expectation seems to grow with each passing month, without them having the reality check of actual game development: not everything we developers conceive makes it quite that well in the final edition. On the other hand: giving consumers a good warning on the point of purchase, makes them quite elligible to understand the risks involved and vote with their wallet.
As far as buying Exanima that really depends. Do you want to play/test an early version of a game that is still in development? Do you want to see it constantly expand and give feedback that can potentially influence how the game is developed? Do you want to wait another two years or so to play SG when Exanima is going to offer a taste of SG much sooner (Exanima will have a lot to offer and likely will give you at least a hundred+ hours of gameplay once completed).
I wouldn't mind buying "Sui Generis" now and then receive Exanima as a good appetizer in anticipation of the full experience. Buying just the appetizer (even though it seems quite a game on itself) makes me a bit less confident of plunging my money in.
Mind you, I am not trying to come accross as critical or doubtful of the Exanima experience, nor do I want to question the development or anything else. It seems great, that's what got me interested in the first place. All I would like is an option to buy the 'full experience' for a good price, whilst it is still in development, and then know I will be able to play both "Exanima" and "Sui Generis" like the original kickstarter backers. I would even expect this package to be more expensive then the price the original backer had to pay, because they were the first to trust the developers.
I hope I explained myself better this time... I know it's a long read, but might be something for the devs to consider.
