Semple himself<\/a> chimed in within the comments: <\/p>\n\u201cYou\u2019ve been paid a considerable amount over the last six months \u2014 you\u2019ve had six months please can we all have what we paid for? You were supposed to give us access to the git and regular updates. You\u2019ve promised the beta numerous times \u2014 we\u2019ve had nothing. Please either deliver what we\u2019ve paid for or refund us. Thanks.\u201d <\/p>\n
Yesterday, August 10th, Semple posted again in the developer\u2019s Reddit thread, claiming that the developer was paid \u201cin installments\u201d over six months and that she was supposed to deliver a working beta after the first stage. <\/p>\n
\u201cThat never happened,\u201d Semple says of the beta delivery. <\/p>\n
\u201cDuring that time, she repeatedly asked for urgent extra payments, saying the beta would be ready \u2018tomorrow\u2019 if I sent more money that day,\u201d he continues. \u201cIn total, she was paid more than double her original quoted cost for the beta version, but we still have not seen any working software.\u201d <\/p>\n
\u201cShe claims she has been working on this full time for six months,\u201d Semple alleges. \u201cI have seen no functioning code or software to support that.\u201d <\/p>\n
In separate comment threads, Semple said Murial \u201cripped\u201d him off and that she made her initial Reddit post to \u201cdetract [sic] from the fact she\u2019s not delivered.\u201d <\/p>\n
\u201cThe truth here is she\u2019s had a lot of money, led us on that she could build it. And has delivered nothing at all,\u201d Semple said. <\/p>\n
Semple claims Murial failed to deliver against milestones in every case. <\/p>\n
Although Semple initially said he would share the \u201creceipts\u201d that support all his claims, he has now changed his tune pending legal proceedings. Semple says on Kickstarter he plans \u201cto pursue legal means to obtain whatever code or assets exist.\u201d <\/p>\n
\u201cIf successful, I will provide every backer with a copy and also release it as open source so others can build on it,\u201d Semple writes. <\/p>\n
\u201cGiven the circumstances, the project is now closed.\u201d <\/p>\n
\u201cI want to thank everyone who supported this idea and to acknowledge the frustration this outcome will cause,\u201d Semple concludes. \u201cI have personally invested substantial additional funds and time to try to deliver, but despite these efforts, we were unable to achieve the result we all wanted.\u201d <\/p>\n
\u2018The truth here is she\u2019s had a lot of money, led us on that she could build it. And has delivered nothing at all.\u2019 The Back and Forth <\/p>\n
Semple and the developer have battled publicly on Reddit, each contesting the other\u2019s accounts of the situation.<\/p>\n
Reddit user, stperona, who claims to be a professional software developer themselves, criticized both Murial and Semple for failing to develop the product that Kickstarter backers paid for. In the case of the developer, stperona alleges that Murial failed to do their due diligence on what a project like this would entail before making various commitments. As for Semple, stperona sees him as an \u201cidea guy\u201d who doesn\u2019t fully understand what it takes to make an application, especially one meant to compete against Adobe Photoshop. <\/p>\n
\u201cAll in all I think it\u2019s time for the Kickstarter backers to accept their pledges are sunk and the project is dead,\u201d stperona concludes. <\/p>\n
Murial replied to this comment, saying that Semple consistently misled her and that things got out of hand. <\/p>\n
Semple then chimed in as well, claiming that Murial had sent him \u201chundreds of rude and harassing emails\u201d in an attempt to \u201cmake\u201d him send more money. <\/p>\n
\u201cYou failed to stick to the timeline or deliver anything at all against payments. You\u2019ve had six months and a heap of money and we have nothing,\u201d Semple says. \u201cI couldn\u2019t collaborate with you as you didn\u2019t give me anything to collaborate on. It was only a couple of weeks ago that I finally even saw a glimpse of what you\u2019d been making after I put my foot down and said no more money until we see something.\u201d <\/p>\n
\u201cQuite frankly what we got back was shocking for the amount of time and money invested in you. You took the cash and you haven\u2019t delivered,\u201d Semple continues. \u201cIf you couldn\u2019t do the gig you should have said at the start. Not after six months of being paid.\u201d <\/p>\n
The developer replied, \u201cHundreds of harassing emails? Stuart come on, are you losing touch with reality now?\u201d <\/p>\n
\u201cCome to find out you even took it a step further and posted an update where you edited my words about your non payment. Dude you can lie like it\u2019s some advanced skillset and worse yet, you convince yourself so quickly. You need to figure yourself out.\u201d <\/p>\n
\u201cI always urged [Semple] to update the community on what the deliverables are so the expectations can be realistic once I found out about what he promised. He\u2019s now taking another hiatus from reality again,\u201d Murial posted on Reddit on a different thread, not in direct response to Semple. <\/p>\n
\u201cTrying to hold him accountable always has the same result \u2014 he bails and blame shifts. I gave him an out multiple times,\u201d Murial adds. <\/p>\n
\u2018You need to figure yourself out.\u2019 <\/p>\n
\u201cIf you worked on it full time for six months please can we all see it?\u201d Semple replied to Murial in another separate thread. \u201cI\u2019d love to see what you did with the time and all the money we gave you.\u201d <\/p>\n
Murial says she did not work on the project full-time for six months because the two failed to agree on that allotment of time when they began working together late last year. <\/p>\n
\u201cYou keep reiterating the six months full time line and it\u2019s false,\u201d Murial says. \u201cI did not work on this for six months. You failed to commit so there were numerous stop starts as I\u2019ve stated on repeat.\u201d <\/p>\n
Murial claims that she wants to release the code she has worked on, provided that there is a valid legal agreement in place. She also wants \u201cproof of where the initial Kickstarter funds went and proof of the previous developer\u201d taking Semple\u2019s money. <\/p>\n
\u201cI\u2019ll provide a substantial discount on what\u2019s due if you provide this [proof],\u201d Murial adds, while also suggesting that the funds she claims she is owed are paid into an attorney\u2019s escrow so that it can be released to her once the code is released to the public. <\/p>\n
\u201cWin-win all round,\u201d the developer says. <\/p>\n
In a separate, now-deleted post, Semple had said he hoped Murial would release the code as open-source. \u2028\u2028\u201dI\u2019d be over the moon,\u201d he said. <\/p>\n
Where Abode Is At Now <\/p>\n
Abode is dead. <\/p>\n
The most recent developer, Murial, claims to have code that she would release if she is paid what she is owed. Semple, the artist behind Abode, says he is not paying Murial more and has never seen evidence that she has completed the work she was contracted for. <\/p>\n
The two have spent the last few days engaged in a very public feud on Reddit about the matter, and each claims that the other party is lying. Both say they are in communication with lawyers. <\/p>\n
PetaPixel has sent requests for comment to both parties involved and will update this story in the event any response is received. <\/p>\n
As for those who backed Abode on Kickstarter, options are limited. As is always the case with a Kickstarter campaign, a pledge is not a product purchase. It is financial support for a product or project. Kickstarter campaign organizers are held to various standards and expected to make a legitimate attempt to fulfill the goals outlined during the initial funding period. However, Kickstarter is very clear that ultimately, delivery is the responsibility of the Kickstarter campaign creator, and that concerns should primarily be addressed to the organizer, not Kickstarter itself. <\/p>\n
However, Abode backers can report the campaign, and Kickstarter\u2019s Trust and Safety team will review the reports. <\/p>\n
\u201cWhile we can\u2019t speak to the nature of all actions taken by Kickstarter, we are actively reaching out to creators when they are falling short of our expectations, and, when necessary, placing restrictions on their account,\u201d Kickstarter explains in its FAQ. <\/p>\n
This precise type of situation is what led to PetaPixel changing its policy earlier this year concerning Kickstarter coverage. We now back every project we write about at the lowest backing level to ensure we maintain complete access to the project and updates to hold creators accountable. Being able to keep track of a project beyond its funding stage makes it much easier to see when Kickstarter creators behave in a way that fails to align with the original promises. <\/p>\n
Unfortunately, in the case of Abode, any sort of financial recompense for backers seems extremely unlikely. According to all parties involved, the campaign\u2019s money has been spent. If Semple is to be believed, he has gone beyond the initial backing to try to bring Abode to its backers. <\/p>\n
The Abode project made overly ambitious promises, lacked the necessary framework to deliver on all its initial promises, and seemed entirely rudderless throughout much of its development period. Promises were made, broken, and made again. <\/p>\n
Whether surprising or not, Abode seems well and truly dead, most likely forever. <\/p>\n
Image credits: Header image created using an asset licensed via Depositphotos<\/a>. Other images via Abode. <\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Abode, the Kickstarter software project that sold over 3,000 backers who pledged nearly a quarter of a million…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":63402,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[6],"tags":[40834,2130,49,48,17996,25601,21651,2940,61],"class_list":["post-63401","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-technology","tag-abode","tag-adobe","tag-ca","tag-canada","tag-kickstarter","tag-photoediting","tag-photoshop","tag-software","tag-technology"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/63401","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=63401"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/63401\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/63402"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=63401"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=63401"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=63401"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}
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