I do agree.
I still use a couple of VST2 plugins - EastWest’s Play is the main one, and just for old projects.
I had a lot of GAS a few years ago, the consequence of which is that for the last 8 years or so all the plugins I use are VST3.
But progress is progress, whether we like it or not. I still pine for a 16-bit screensaver I used to use in the 90s, the software in my old Korg S3 drum machine (which I loved!) crashed (around 1996) and never recovered and I still have the useless thing in a box in the garage, so I know the feelings people have for older gear/plugins.
I’m not going to start checking and bantering over dates here. I don’t care because this post is going off at a tangent. This post is about somebody complaining at Steinberg because they are not supporting old software technology when Steinbergs statement should have been acknowledged.
2013 was the time VST2 was left behind. The statement from Yvan Grabit, Technology Lead at Steinberg reads: "Late 2013 we announced that the Software Development Kit (SDK) for VST 2 would no longer be maintained and would only be available as subset of the VST 3 SDK. Five years down the line and this transitional phase is now also coming to an end.
From October 2018 onward we are closing down the second version of VST for good. While the VST 2 SDK has been unavailable, and so have maintenance and technical support, the subset within the VST 3 SDK will also be omitted.
VST 2 compatibility with Steinberg VST hosts will remain, however, we recommend to root for the latest version of VST. VST 2 was introduced in 1999 and since then the technology has evolved dramatically. Since 2008, the SDK for the third iteration of VST, VST 3, has been available and since then efforts are focused entirely on the further development of VST 3.
We appreciate that developers and users alike gravitate strongly toward the VST 3 interface that comes with many technological advancements. By bidding farewell to VST 2, we hope to offer everyone a clear direction.” I’ve done my bit. 
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That again shows you how gracious and how much leeway Steinberg has given to developers too..
2013 was when the SDK was finally put to rest, but VST3 was released 5 years before that in 2008. Devs were being slow even then, so they took the SDK away. They gave everybody another 12 years to get a move on, and now its time to finally call it a day.
It was mentioned that VST2 is likely not responsible for C14’s issues, no one said it was. This means that Steinberg tech support, who’s already overwhelmed from day to day, doesn’t have to waste time troubleshooting and reading user crash reports, only to find out the reason is because of some 2002 VST2 plugin that can’t be resolved and the user refuses to quit using.
I’ve never encountered cubendo crashes myself due to my extensive combinations of vst, vst2, vst3 plugs (win11 pro 24h2, various installed cubendo versions 3-14)…I also use jbridge extensively for the task it’s designed for …but out of curiosity…in the case of Windows-only…
if a Windows user experiences regular crashes due to old vst plugs…does the bluecat patchwork app pretty much instantly solve the situation? For those who might buy it.
I always think (in the back of my mind) "well, if I personally ever start experiencing vst/vst2 oriented crashes, I’d just buy the bluecat thing as a last resort for old plugs I don’t want to give up on.
I don’t think there’s any reliable way to answer that question, other than to identify that Blue Cat Patchwork is specifically designed to load VSTs separately from VST3 and AU plug-ins. One may presume that means a higher level of fault-tolerance for a plug-in which may be otherwise loaded with a “best effort” in some other DAW/Host, but to me that seems like an assumption without supporting data. In my opinion, it would most certainly be dependent upon each individual plug-in. So that’s a “maybe?”
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Maybe it’s time to do some housecleaning. I don’t say that to be a wise-ass. Sometimes it can be refreshing. I find that Cubase has really good quality plugins and I’ll bet you can find most of what you need right there. The others can probably be upgraded for free, or a small fee. I also have had many versions of Cubase and at this point i feel v. 14 is one of the best. As far as the Termination Error, I don’t have enough information, but I would be surprised if it has anything to do with Cubase. Unless you’ve tried to load something that doesn’t belong.
Hope this helps…
If this is a windows PC, DM me. I’m sure I can help you.
For myself, there are a very few unique for me VST2 plugs that can’t be upgraded and can’t be duplicated that I hopefully intend to use in the future.
Solutions:
Bluecat Patchwork has been mentioned for years. I doubt it’s perfect. I have heard of other solutions as well. Take what you got, and make the best of it. This is how it has always worked in the past.
For anyone on the outside and looking in to 2nd guess a developers internal plans and why they do what they do is really silly. Every developers resources are limited. Ultimately, vote with your pocket.
Thanks for the help guys. I got almost everything back. I haven’t checked my Steinberg stuff though. I bought Absolute 3 years ago but it was off the original copy protection that’s been discontinued. So is it still working or am I out of luck there?
Okay, now I’m really pissed. None of my Steinberg products aside from Cubase work. I tried to open Halion 6 and it says no valid license found. WTF? Do you have any idea how much money I spent on all these Steinberg products and now they’re just gone? Seriously? What kind of BS is this?
I thought you already were, but … now more pissed?
This is where a reasonable user would post a screenshot of what “it says”.
I don’t have any idea how much money you have spent on “these Steinberg products”. Probably a similar amount to what I have spent on mine, though, if I had to guess.
The stinky kind, very stinky. Seriously, though …you are crying like a two year old child.
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If you halion licence is on a dongle, just insert that and install elicencer software. If it was soft elicencer on anaother computer, you are out of luck and need to update to halion 7. If the last, maybe wait till a sale and maybe update to Absolute.
Don’t shoot me, just helping user.
Thanks all. Steinberg support took care of me. Problem solved.
Please share (if possible), it may help others with similar issues. 
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So are you and Steinberg friends now?
Yet another scenario where the option to properly sandbox plugins ala BitWig would be monumentally helpful.
Steinberg… are you at least working on this? Last week was absolutely brutal for me trying to get my current project to open for 16 hours straight because I was on a time crunch. Really cut into my off-time, as well.
This must be addressed: how are you gonna let even other, German DAW makers flank you on your own Virtual Studio Technology implementation in your flagship DAW? Huh?
Do you know how much pain this kind of thing causes your userbase? Pain that is 100% avoidable with some of that famous “German Engineering” we keep hearing about? Wtf, guys?
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I don’t want to go into all the gory details because I was on the phone with them forever.
This is what I can tell you.
As far as the elicenser itself goes, there is nothing they can do. They can hook up to your computer and try some stuff that is most likely to fail anyway but ultimately, if you lost your stuff, you lost your stuff. The directive from Steinberg to support is this is what you tell them and then apologize.
So this is what you do and, unfortunately, it’s all I’m allowed to tell you. After they tell you that they can’t get your stuff back for you, ask them what they CAN do for you.
I can’t make promises but in my case they took care of me in a way that was satisfactory to me. Maybe it was because of how much I whined on the phone or maybe I just got the right support tech.
But the bottom line is simple. We’re pretty much screwed.
It is what it is.
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Friends? Hardly. But they’re keeping me as a customer for now. I can say this much also. This new licensing system they expect to be around for at least the next 10 years if not longer.
Time will tell.
“German Engineering” is becoming more and more a mythical figure.
We’re in the year 2025 and Steinberg misses a lot of basic stuff, that other companies have already implemented cleanly for a long time.
Just remember: “If you don’t move with the times, you’ll move with the times.”
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And a lot of other software products are hopeless with tasks that Cubendo does very very well.
imo.
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