[mustpax]

Exactly.

Does your contract with engineer cover the very likely case of the project being delayed? I mean, most projects out there are subject to delays or budget overruns. Writing software is unpredictable business. If your contract does not make any provisions about this, that's very unfortunate but I'm sure you won't make the same mistake next time.

If your contract does cover it, then what you're entitled to is specified therein. Trying to reverse engineer the software so you can sidestep these provisions is very questionable, and would also expose you to litigation.