1 - Basing your future finances on indie dev is a VERY big risk in itself. This is definitely something you want to start on the side, and let grow, to the point where you realize "ok, I can live off of this now". Like you said, poor resumes, missing references, I wouldn't bet everything on indie just yet if I were you...
2 - You have not answered my major concern I've expressed:
I'll have to agree however that you've made quite a few "project swings" in the last couple months/weeks. I believe serious applicants may need a tangible reason to believe that Illium isn't just another step in your "progress to the real project" aka, that it is not a standby until you get something better, not just a training of some sort.
Generally, the project sounds appealing, but you do not sound convinced/dedicated to it.[/quote]
You can't start a project out of "despair". You really need a reason for this project to happen. I might have a hint at why you will not fail to complete this project, but I'd rather have you word it for everyone else to see so that potential partners may relate and trust you based on that. The rest will come easy once people know they won't be "wasting" their time.