Hmm. First you say it's a dick move, but then you give arguments why it's NOT a dick move.
Then you're not reading very carefully.
Abandoning the game but then refusing to let anyone else continue it is a dick move. And if he was worried about it looking different, as I said, he could provide the settings etc to match the characters and even give ideas for where the story was going etc. To intentionally just kill the game and not let ANYONE continue it is a dick move.
The parts about the character looking different is a separate issue. Again, one that could be addressed by giving the settings so that characters could be matched. Refusing to do that on top of refusing to do any more releases is intentionally killing the game and making sure it stays dead.
He could even stipulate that the continuation is clearly marked as a fan fiction version of the story and not the canonical one. Just to keep fans happy while they wait probably forever for the official continuation.
CedSense COULD certainly continue the game as is. He doesn't have to update the engine and models etc like "Single Again" did. I'm sure everyone would prefer it stay the same as it was.
But again, to refuse to do ANY of this, and make sure the game stays dead... that's a dick move. It's a layer cake of dick moves.
The game (or book, comic, tv-series whatever) belongs to the original creator. And I don't mean in the legal sense, but it's his story, his vision. Somebody else may make something decent based on the original premise, but it cannot be the same.
Again, while true, doesn't mean it's still not a dick move. It's still a dick move for the reasons given above. He could either continue it, or help someone else create some new chapters or something for it, a bit like how "Big Brother" has had a million spin offs.
Intentionally killing the game outright by refusing to continue it himself OR let anyone else continue it, is a dick move.
So if Cedsense doesn't want someone else, who is clearly talented, to finish the project, then I think all we can do is respect his wishes, even if we would have hoped for something else. We can only hope that Cedsense does eventually return to finish this, but if not, then we still need to live with that.
I don't have to respect it in the sense of holding it in any sense of esteem or high regard. I only have to respect it in the legal sense of not violating his copyright. Two very different definitions of the word "respect." I think he's a dick for abandoning it and then refusing to let anyone else continue it, legal right or not.
I hope he returns to it, but as the years go by I start to care less and less as other better looking and interesting games come along. And knowing that he pulled the dick move of intentionally killing V19XX's attempt to continue the story with a new release, new models, etc... that just makes me less interested in seeing this story continue. Let it die. I'll follow the other games listed above. Lost at Birth, and Reclaiming the Lost, both of which are better looking now anyway.