That's the usual problem with all that retroactive rewriting of history in scams like these.If you can find a CIG direct quote suggesting that SQ42 specifically would have any kind of backer testing stage I am all ears.
I'm pretty certain Chris Roberts promised during various interviews / YouTube shows / video game exhibitions etc. in 2012 and early 2013, that it's the exclusive privilege of (Kickstarter) backers beta-testing SQ42 missions early before public release. I'm also certain, that I saw Squadron 42 beta testing on some CitizonCon powerpoint slides. Obviously when 2014 arrived, SQ42 was completely MIA, because it was just the usual bait-and-switch.
It should be noted that this was long before the "selling two games" idea, which got CIG into heavy legal trouble. They were selling "Exclusive access to the Alpha + Beta" as Kickstarter tiers for this:
Of course, anybody pledging in the respective tiers expected early access to all of this, not just "Arena Commander" and other stopgap gimmicks made up later.Kickstarter said:Real quick, Star Citizen is:
- A rich universe focused on epic space adventure, trading and dogfighting in first person.
- Single Player – Offline or Online(Drop in / Drop out co-op play)
- Persistent Universe (hosted by US)
- Mod-able multiplayer (hosted by YOU)
- No Subscriptions
- No Pay to Win