I flip back and forth on the subject. I try to be patient and succeed most of the time. Sometimes though, the setbacks get the better of me and I feel the frustration creeping back in. My issues are less about setbacks like the vertical slice though and more about the ever widening gap between today and the actual release date.
I want to see this game release and be the wild success we all know it could be. It has the potential to raise the proverbial bar for all future mmos. It has a solid chance to redefine what is actually possible in a mmo and keep us entertained for the large part of the next decade. It has to release though. If they wait too long, their window of opportunity will close.
Right now, there isn't much to play in the mmo world. The genre is over saturated with free to play, over hyped, p2w failures. There are some prospects on the horizon, but there's not much right now. If SC's release date gets pushed too far out, they will find themselves obsolete before they even begin. It's not just the release date though.
I just don't want to see Star Citizen turn out to be just another game that could have been great. I have seen far too many of those over the years. APB, Guild Wars 2, The Division, Archeage, and many others had all the components to become amazing and groundbreaking games. Each one of them had such amazing potential for perfection but they all fell prey to a massive failure in management and design choices. Seeing these failures happen first hand was like watching a class full of preschoolers descend upon the mona lisa with a handful of crayons and magic markers.
All this has left me a bit paranoid. This game might very well be the last step to push me over the limit to a full fledged video game cynic. I have a little faith left and have spent all that remains on this game. If this fails, I don't know if I can ever believe the hype again. But, that's why I'm here. That's why I'm playing this alpha and have supported this game. I want to give my feedback through this development process (however small amount of influence I actually have). I know it's not perfect, but I will do my part to try and help it in the right direction.
I'm not the only one either. Many of us here feel the same way. We're not here to play the game early, we're here to help this game become what we all know it has the potential to be. So, for now, I am patient.