"Smart Object" Software Alternative?

I've recently dumped PS and all Adobe products and moved on. I picked up Affinity Photo and already owned On1 Raw and Effects. I also run the NIK plugins. The only feature of PS that I can't seem to find a work-around with these new Apps is "Smart Objects". This one feature would save all my filter editing history, including all edits within each NIK plugin, that I could change well after the image was saved and closed. This was great since it allowed me to keep working and image until I achieved what I originally envisioned and not be forced to get it right in one editing session.

Does anyone have a workaround that I'm unaware of with Affinity, On1 or even NIK that would save the complete editing history and allow me to continue working after an image is closed?

What made you dump Adobe when what you have gone to has this issue?

Before dumping I thought I'd researched it all including support for NIK. I missed this one important feature. Now that I've upgraded my system there's no going back to my CS6 Suite and no way I'll pay for a subscription to anyone, especially Adobe. Worse case I install CS6 on another machine or boot drive and go from there. Just looking to avoid that if possible.

Found a work-around, not as streamlined as roundtripping from PS to NIK and back, but do-able with hopefully the same end result.

Hardware upgrades, software upgrades, all of it can be a pain in the neck with ugly surprises and pitfalls. Its almost not possible, maybe impossible, to check everything before taking the leap. I had a computer hardware/software tutoring/trouble shooting/in home service business for 20 years and i can't remember how many times I've been burned.