Why I need to know:  they are still playable, even with dead keys, so I would like to benefit a bit from buying a License by having ability to play them without need to restart trial each 20 minutes. Or will I still need to keep trial installed for these days when I would like to play these other limited instruments?

Demo versions of all instruments will be available, but the 20 minute timeout will still apply to any instruments you did not purchase and are not free. As well as the two bundled instruments, you also get a lot of free instruments (fully functional with no time out) once you purchase any version of Pianoteq. These include the KIViR, Bells and Carillons, and Legacy instruments. Some of these you only get full access to in the "User Area" once you've purchased and registered Pianoteq (any version), most notably the Legacy instruments, which are flagship instruments from earlier versions of Pianoteq.

Why I need to know:  they are still playable, even with dead keys, so I would like to benefit a bit from buying a License by having ability to play them without need to restart trial each 20 minutes. Or will I still need to keep trial installed for these days when I would like to play these other limited instruments?

I think Modartt made a mistake with its pricing policy.

The really good business plan is this one :

- Price of Stage, Standard, Studio bundle no change
- Price of Pro version 300€
- Price of addon only 30€ (with this price you buy more add-on, with 49€ perhaps never)
- All addons in stand alone version for 75€

I'm sure it's the best way for expand sales for Modartt and the best price for customers.

I don't think so. As a Stage owner who added some 'addons' then went to standard and added some more 'addons' My only gripe would be that the initial purchase doesn't/didn't [I haven't checked] let you pick one 'piano' and one "something else" eg celeste.
I have my eyes on the new harpsichord and to a lesser extent the 'B' piano and/or harp and I suspect I will eventually go to the 'pro' version but in some ways that will be more to support for what pianoteq is doing rather than a 'real' need - my playing is less than average I suspect.

The really good business plan is this one :

- Price of Stage, Standard, Studio bundle no change
- Price of Pro version 300€
- Price of addon only 30€ (with this price you buy more add-on, with 49€ perhaps never)
- All addons in stand alone version for 75€

I'm sure it's the best way for expand sales for Modartt and the best price for customers.

Hey, I live in Croatia where people don't have very big salaries either, minimum wage is like that, about 250-300€ or so, I know how that feels. It's still not impossible to save up.

I acknowledge that it may vary from person to person, and also you may just love piano much more than I do. Still, it's very widespread mentality out there. I actually was criticized by some friends a lot because I sometimes buy games on Steam (on big sales and when I really want to support some outstanding, unique one), even though that happens around once per year and I barely ever have spent more the 10$ for a game Idea, paying ~300$ for just another "game" just blows my mind right away, my common sense twitches in agony and demands me to regain my reasons asap as there are obviously much more urgent needs I need first to attend, and there are a lot of them.

Don't think I ever will find anyone around here who will pay more than 30-50$ for a piece of software. ~90% of all software in our country, even at private companies and goverment institutions is pirated. Selling it on the internet to a guy from some other country may be rather difficult, we also have very rigorous regulations of all incoming payments in foreign currencies.

And if a dire situation ever comes, you can sell your license too, at a bit of a loss, true, but you could recoup at least some funds in that case... It's not all black.

Alternatively, try putting 25€ every month aside if possible, and in 10 months you can definitely own Standard

I could do it much sooner, but anyone living there thinks a bit different than most people in 1st world countries, I guess Like, "What if lose my job next year, then I will regret that  I spent that much on some useless recreational toy, I could live 2 months on 250 euros, and there won't be any social aid from my state, I can count only on myself", or "You should better spend these moneys on getting some qualifications or healing your teeth, or buying something your really need at your house". You must set priorities, and recreation is usually at the bottom of the list, especially when you still have some cheaper (though worse) alternatives. You can't understand that unless you've been living most of your life like that If I was a professional pianist and I needed that tool for making money from my play, I would bought it, as I would know I'll earn more money with it. Otherwise, it goes to the end of the list, until one day many years later I will perhaps somehow make my situation better.

https://www.kvraudio.com/forum/viewforum.php?f=43

Alternatively, try putting 25€ every month aside if possible, and in 10 months you can definitely own Standard.

Also, do you REALLY REALLY REALLY need the Pro version? For majority of people Standard is perfectly enough.

I would like to have Standard (that's what I said in my post), Pro has excessive amount of feature for for me. Still, living in a region where 250 euros is a mean month income, adds some psychological barriers to your spendings It's not as I couldn't afford it, but you just can't make yourself pay that much, unless you are totally sure it's absolutely must have/vital. I'm not a professional pianist, not even just a good pianist (on my first year of self-training), I can't use it to earn money so I could "make up" for this purchase, in my case it's just for recreational purposes. And despite Pianoteq is really good piece of software, I still can use the internal sound processor of my gear, or (shame upon me) some pirated VST you can find out there. I can't yet convince myself I need to pay 250 euros for it. Buying a Stage version gives even less incentive. You still pay a lot and receive too limited version.
Anyway, it's a pity there are no sales. Thanks for the info.

By the way - a single license allows installation on three computers simultaneously, so no, Stage is not that kind of version. You can consider the three Pianoteq versions as 3-part payment, too, since upgrade pricing is exactly the price difference between them. So if it helps you break up your expenses, that's the way to go.

Also, do you REALLY REALLY REALLY need the Pro version? For majority of people Standard is perfectly enough.

Does Pianoteq ever go on sales with really huge discounts (>=50%)? Yes I know about discounts for music students, unfortunately I'm not the one.
I also know about Pianoteq Stage, but it seems to me more like a version one would buy to accompany his Standard or Pro version, like if he would need to install it on a lots of devices, in studio, at home, at his child's laptop etc, without violating license agreement; it's just too limited and doesn't feel like a thing worth buying for 100+$. I would really like to become owner of a Standard version, but for a current price of the Stage version. So I'm ready to wait for some sales opportunity if I must. Is it a possibility?

I'm sure this is not an uncommon issue, but I get a bit annoyed with companies who offer great special deals for new purchases but little to their loyal user base ..

I don't agree with your point of view. There are a lot of companies who offer such good deals. Where is the problem? To me this kind of thinking is a bit some "thing gone wrong in the so-called free market societies". It leads to reactions like in Kindergarden a bit. So just look at what advantages old time users have, apart from what is already mentioned.

1. you get the vsti early, and if you are a competitive guy (you certainly compare things like that in this post) - you have an advantage. New sounds, the others who only buy later - don't have it. They do songs later and try to publish them, but the sound is already known quite a bit. That's why, for example, many are so eager to buy  a new vsti the week it is released...

2. You got all the gifts the day they came out, new pianos....new possibilities in the software....you are lucky and a most experienced user of your software, while others only chime in late and are far behind you.

All in all these company decisions are wise, and an answer to the fact that many hobbyist users cannot afford to buy all the software for the "100% price" since our countries are more and more divided (some very rich, many live still luxurious, but more and more get poor and poorer)

Just an idea - maybe you could agree to some of these views?