What are AniMate Forge and AniMate Core?

Forge and Core are a solution to help development of the AniMate add-on family while providing options to access the content for all users.

Core (one time purchase feature locked version) is the traditional add-on model for Blender where you buy an add-on once and while it will be maintained it will not receive additional features. Core versions will be around 2 years apart and users will be able to upgrade to the next version for discount (likely around 70%).

Forge (annual support incremental featured access to all add-ons) gives access to all the new features that are in development between two Core versions, as they are being developed allowing Forge users to be the first ones to access features that will take months or years to be released to the Core feature set.

Core versions of the add-ons need to be purchased independently, while Forge will give access to all the add-ons, making Forge the go-to for any new users as it will be cheaper to get the add-ons through this method eve if only interested in one year of Forge.

Any version of the add-on that you get from your Core or Forge product is yours to keep forever.

Core versions will get support and will be compatible with the latest Blender versions released until the next Core version is released.

How to decide between Forge and Core?

Who is Forge for?

• Animation or Videogame studios or professionals.
• Animators who can afford to support development, updating and maintenance of AniMate add-ons financially.

Who is Core for?

• Indies on a budget that only want 1 or 2 of the add-ons.
• Users who prefer to pick and choose and don't care or have the need for the latest and greatest.

Why?

• AniMate Pro and Transformator Core alone are the same cost of a year worth of updates for all addons, and all the new features. And for that time you will get a fully featured Core version (for all the AniMate add-ons) and all the ongoing updates and support.

What do you get with Forge?

This chart is an imaginary example of two years of updates. I am confident this is very conservative. If we look at he last 4 months of development for AniMate Pro alone it would have been the equivalent of a full year of features. But this is neither a promise nor a compromise it is illustrative to explain the concept of Core and Forge.