I agree with PytonPago, they have probably a lot of work to do to deliver a "1.0" version of the engine, and it will be only the begining. I'm not sure they will release a kickstarter for a global sim plateform before having such things as engine/system support, clickable panels, multiplayer, weather, rivers, biomes and some urban stuff.
Plus, they probably have to prove that Anteworld is still on the rail, because switching to an other project will probably piss a lot of people (and they have always said that the project was still planed, but that extending the engine was a priority).
The good thing is that they don't keep the thing closed and they have developed several tools for moders, and I think the engine will probably keep this pace for a few years : they will improve the core features content and expend the modding tools to keep us busy
I just hope they will find new devs talented enought to work on the project, it may help a lot to accelerate the developpement.
Outerra : It's always worth the wait