Guto Thank you very much for your detailed feedback.
We would like to clarify, however, that we do not recommend including the process of downgrading skeleton data created with a newer version of Spine into your standard workflow. Downgrading is intended only for exceptional situations—such as recovering data that was accidentally saved in a newer version—not as a regular part of production.
We consistently recommend using the latest version of the Spine editor. To support this, we make every effort to keep runtime changes minimal. Nevertheless, when upgrading the runtime version, it is necessary to re-export all skeleton data. For large Spine projects, we provide a shell script that enables batch exporting of all data to streamline this process.
Spine's rapid feature development has been made possible by this policy. If we were to maintain backward compatibility with older versions while simultaneously introducing new features, it would be difficult to sustain the same pace of innovation.
We understand that upgrading the Spine version in an ongoing game project can require additional effort. However, we do not charge any additional fees for updates, nor do we offer them as a separate paid package. All updates are included under the existing license and can be accessed at no extra cost.
If you could share the specific challenges your project is encountering during the upgrade process, we would be glad to offer any guidance or suggestions that might help.
