Plugin upgrade options

[mnsandler]

Some user are concerned about purchasing an HS3 plugin now and then having to purchase an HS4 upgrade soon after. We are currently offering users the ability to purchase HS3 now and get HS4 for free. If any plugin authors would like to offer this to their users, they are welcome to do so. When your plugin is sold in the store we would issue the user 2 licenses, one for your HS3 plugin and one for your HS4 plugin. I will post details soon, but all we need is the ID of your HS4 plugin and we can then create the product in our database.

What is 'soon' related to HS4? what is your timeframe for releasing HS4? I will consider the offer to new users once I've finished my hs4 plugin and everything is working. I have no idea about my timeframe to release an Insteon HS4 plugin at the moment.

[mnsandler]

When a user enters their license, they will enter their current HS3 license, and also enter the upgrade license. Our system verifies that they are the owner of the license and then registers the plugin. I should have that dialog available soon.

Yes, please the screens and process here. Will this give us the ability to continue to use the same plugin Name as the ID is now the unique key for licensing? ie we can build in a version number into the ID if we want?

[mnsandler]

I really don't expect my existing HS3 users to jump on HS4 that quickly. But i do want to support the HS4 users with a fully compatible HS4 plugin.

My approach to supporting HS3 and HS4 will be to maintain two different code bases (75% of my code is HS independent anyways). I will continue to support my HS3 plugins (to be used in HS3) and will provide HS4 plugins as well. I will make no guarantees about the functionality of my HS3 plugins running in HS4. Users may run it at their own risk. I don't plan on spending any time modifying my HS3 plugins to work with HS4. If users are having troubles in HS4 (with my HS3 plugins), an upgrade to the HS4 plugin will be required.

I do expect HST to support the upgrade from an existing HS3 to an HS4 plugin which i think Rich rjh has already commented he will. I need these to be different licenses; not the same.