This algorithm has been written a thousand times, and probably already exists somewhere online, hidden deep within the internet. And as you say, it targets a c

This algorithm has been written a thousand times, and probably already exists somewhere online, hidden deep within the internet. And as you say, it targets a completely different set of users. Sprite Lamp, is building something for artists to use, while the people who want a command line tool, would likely try to build it themselves rather than try to fit the .NET gui into their pipeline. And additionally, it's likely that your release won't spread fast in the same channels at all, not really even showing up on the radar of many potential contributors of Sprite Lamp. My point is, the ethics of the decision really only matter if you are going to have any affect on the kickstarter campaign. (Which I think even then you'd be in the proper right to release your code) But your unlikely to affect the kickstarter at all. So, IMO, I think you should release now, and ride the wave a little bit for people who like the idea of Sprite Lamp, but don't like the idea of the interface.