Woe…I feel the frustration but I don’t think this is limited to Steinberg. Every software product on the market has endured some troublesome releases and a period of dark times getting everything back on the ‘road map’ that they intend.
If the budget is that tight, ALWAYS take advantage of the trial period first. In the least, wait a few months after release and see what the buzz is all about (reviews, tutorials, live meets on Youtube, etc).
Consider that the upgrade from 12 to 13 cost less than a couple of meals out (or ONE with clients or family). If you just got the whole kit brand new and 13 isn’t working for you because of the colors and fonts, it’s only a few clicks to install and try 12 too.
With the Steinberg model, you always pay-for and register the ‘latest version’ when you first come on-board. You can always run older and lesser versions though. I.E. A license for Cubase Pro v13 lets you also run Cubase Artist/SE/LE. Current and older stuff. If you don’t have a dongle it’s a bit more involved to roll back further than v12, but it is still possible if you really need it (contact support, get a dongle and a key).
For me it’s been common practice to be at least 6 months to a year behind in implementing major system upgrades. I do go ahead and buy them and install in a test bed, start getting familiar with it, and running my own series of TESTS, since the devs need a payday to keep on working, but I take my sweet time implementing it all.
Never fails that I find some issue with my system and end up sending some logs, sample projects to ‘reproduce an issue’, crash reports, etc. Not just Steinberg, but with all of it. Windows OS itself, other music tools I use, various kit parts and drivers, and more.
I’m not thrilled with version 13 presently for reasons of my own, but I see a LOT of workflow growth that I’m eager to be able to implement eventually. I am already using sketch and some other ‘across the Steinberg world’ plugins/sound libraries, and other enhancements that shipped with v13 in v12, and with hosts like Dorico 5 (which doesn’t include sketch yet, but will soon, so they’ve allowed it to ‘work’ already). That alone is immediately worth the upgrade price ‘to me’.
If it’s mission critical, or I’m in front of clients/peers, I stick with the most stable version that I know the best. Personally, there are sessions that I feel better going with v11.5 and the old dongle, but I’m mostly on v12 these days. I’ll transition to v13 when it’s ready for me, and I ready for it.