[IC] KAT Great Wave (大浪) | GB Jun21- Jul22 - All Vendors Live!

[audax989]

in for that cat deskmat.

[NorthTidal]

Was out of the hobby for a while and I'm so happy to see the progress on this kit. Can't wait to get my hands on it!

Great work!

[NorthTidal]

In the ortho + 40s kit the "\ " is with a "?" but it should be with a "|".
I also think that the 40s kit needs a 1.5U left shift.
Will there also be a japanese text ortho+40s mod kit?

IMO the novelties look great but they don't feel cohesive enough. It looks like they could be at least 2 different novelties kits. I think it has to do with having different line weights for the images.

[candravamsa]

90% buy for me, 100% once the Ergo goes up!

[iknowreal]

When i this projected release

[darthcapn]

Interested!!

Sent from my SM-G988U using Tapatalk

[Eddyhhh]

For the novelties, I recommend changing the key that says 大波 (wave) to 大浪 (onami). Just cause as a person who can read Chinese characters 大波 kinda means big boobs

[NoteMakoti]

For the novelties, I recommend changing the key that says 大波 (wave) to 大浪 (onami). Just cause as a person who can read Chinese characters 大波 kinda means big boobs

All the more reason to keep it the way it is.  )

[Eddyhhh]

For the novelties, I recommend changing the key that says 大波 (wave) to 大浪 (onami). Just cause as a person who can read Chinese characters 大波 kinda means big boobs

All the more reason to keep it the way it is.  )

You know what you’re totally right

[iknowreal]

when are we expecting this to show up as more than a interest check.  By far one of my favorites.

[koolaidpapa]

Love the colors, might have trouble getting some of the novelties to work in the end, no?

[Bobatype]

Kitting Updates/Refinements/Corrections
[Alphas] - shifted R4 Backslash/Pipe key from Modifiers to respective alpha & language kits (thanks to Yh for this suggestion)
- more 1u keys to the Kana sublegend kits added to account for Iso compatibility
[Mods - Latin Text] - R3 1.5U 'backspace' key legend corrected to display 'Back' instead of 'Delete'
[Mods - Japanese Text] - legends change: Windows logo -> メタ; (Alt) 無変換 -> オルト ; 変換 -> 機能 (thanks to Kidviddy)
- R3 1.5U 'backspace' key legend corrected to state 'Backspace' instead of 'Delete'

[Novelties] - folding origami crane steps culled ; more seigaha wave novelties added ; wave emblem colours corrected to display novelties for R4 and R5 supplemented for both; added 2 more bot row modifiers in lighter blue for 40/ortho users
- 大波 changed to 大浪 (thanks Kidviddy and Jeffecy)

[Blanks/Columns] - decision to avoid making generic blanks, and added graphic legends that have Japanese symbology from family crests (mons)

We will be likely changing at least two or three of the designs to improve overall consistency (far bottom left and 2nd row+2nd column designs are likely too fine detailed)

[40/orthos] - significant amount of adjustments based off Dr Higsby from the 40s discord, giving feedback.
There are now 7x 1.25u bottom row modifiers. Reduction in total number of 1.5 u modifiers.
R2 1u dark navy blue shift was culled. Code to be used here instead.
R1 blue right shift sizes: 1u, 1.25u, 1.5u, 1.75u. left white shift sizes: 1u, 1.5u, 1.75u.
Reduction in 1.75u bottom row keys. Now only have 1x. It should be white and say "Lock."
R3 backspace sizes: 1u, 1.5u, 1.75u, 2u
Caps lock key cut
Spacebars in WHITE: 1u, 1u, 1.5u, 1.5u, 1.75u, 1.75u, 2u, 2u, 2.25u, 2.75u
Only one of each blank 1us.

[Colemak+] -  added  forgotten additional B in light blue to support Colemak DHm (thanks Kekboiit). R3 ' key added to support DHm wide variation as well. Corrected error where some legends were mono, instead of dual (thanks psxndc)
[German] - Forgotten Iso Enter and Left Shift keys were added to match other language kit compositions
[Spanish] - Forgotten Iso Enter and Left Shift keys were added to match other language kit compositions
[JIS Latin Alphas] - colours of 6 and 7 fixed. Alignment of 0 adjusted to match the other digits (thanks to Kidviddy)

Added kit [R4 Kanji] - 0-9, and Esc in Kanji, kit added for 60/65% users to use with latin alphas
Current kitting considerations:
- Adding Ergo kit
- 40/orthos - changing to Japanese text mods instead of English text mods? Icon mods will remain.
- ?Adding a Media kit - unsure which row this should be added to - R4?
- ?Offering a standalone TKL base kit (Icon mods and Latin alphas)?
- Await further feedback on JIS kitting re: sufficient demand for 4.5u spacebar
- Optimising novelties kit further

Deskmats
- Due to popular demand, the Original Artwork will be added as a deskmat
- Ryu (partial dragon design) might be on potential chopping block due to not polling as well as the other larger Dragon, (Ryujin)
- Enso and Seigaha polled decently well as additional options, but at this stage unclear if we have room for more deskmat designs. Debating whether or not to do a deskmat only GB potentially.

Colours
Photographs of Pantone colour reference on paper added to IC ; lighting in kit renders also adjusted in attempt to show that darkest blue shade is in fact a bit darker in real life

Vendors for Canada, South America, and Ukraine/Belarus/Russia (non-EU Europe) are confirmed
Currently in other regions such as: NA, EU, OCE, SEA etc. are still being decided

Thanks for leaving positivity, helpful comments, corrections, and suggestions everyone! Hopefully we can finalise vendors soon to confirm the GB date, and move towards getting some collaborations confirmed. I will strive to answer some of the earlier thread comments in the next day.

(s/o to Mechmerlin verdict for the "Strong Consider"  )

[Laur]

Some updates are now live! For those who will ask about the Chasm, no IC yet. 

[CStarr]

I'm in for the Alpha, Mods (one set), Novelties, and Ōnami (Hoping for 1200mm x 600mm)! Love this theme and what I'm seeing!

[vladimir108]

Any explanation why on deskmat "The Great Wave off Kanagawa" is missing 2nd boat which is on original picture and also on deskmat "Great Cats off Kanagawa" please? :-)

[Bobatype]

In the ortho + 40s kit the "\ " is with a "?" but it should be with a "|".
I also think that the 40s kit needs a 1.5U left shift.
Will there also be a japanese text ortho+40s mod kit?

IMO the novelties look great but they don't feel cohesive enough. It looks like they could be at least 2 different novelties kits. I think it has to do with having different line weights for the images.

You are correct the pipe is paired with backslash and not a question mark. We have shifted this key entirely from all mods to the Alpha kits.
For 40s/ortho shift keys, we need to double check, but based on the advice we've been given about 40s kitting (Dr Higsby) we'll be aiming for Left (dark blue) sizes in 1u, 1.25u, 1.5u, 1.75u. and right in the following sizes: 1u, 1.5u, 1.75u.
We are strongly considering a japanese text ortho+40s mod kit. Hopefully more people vocalise this interest. It would have to replace the English test ortho+40s mod kit though due to our number of kits.
The novelties kit do have some stylistic variations due to some being somewhat direct copies of Hokusai's artwork, and others are more inspired/thematic. We have decided to keep both subtle, simpler designs and those that are a bit more busy/complex, as people have many different preferences; no one puts all of them on at once. We'll keep working on improving them.

When i this projected release

when are we expecting this to show up as more than a interest check.  By far one of my favorites.

Sorry, no projected release yet, but we're aiming to nail our NA Vendor this coming fortnight, and that will help with us setting a groupbuy date. We're aiming in the first half of this year, and sooner than later if possible. Really depends on vendor.

in for that cat deskmat.

Hehe, I'm so happy it turned out well.

Love the colors, might have trouble getting some of the novelties to work in the end, no?

The novelties will have no issue, as the legends are dye-subliminated on PBT, thus the technical requirements for minimum line widths and gaps is significantly less restrictive (i.e. 0.1mm) versus the double-shot/triple shot legends on ABS keycaps (GMK, JTK, SA).

Great set, and I really like Onami. The Colemak +DHm is pretty rare. If it isn't too much to ask for, could you add a r2 1u ctrl key?

Hi which layout would this R2 1u ctrl key pertain too?

My bad for forgetting to mention it'd be for the Latin/icon ortholinear/40 kits; 40% and and ortholinear layouts have been getting popular and Kat/Kam sets tend to have reliable compatability, which is why I asked for the one "missing" key. That caps lock position is actually quite valuable for reachibility so people put backspace or ctrl there, maybe add a 1u R2 backspace?  Personally I think it makes sense only to use Latin mods with pure Latin alphas, and the key that I believe to be "Code" in the icon set looks like it could be either Tab or Enter, so I wouldn't use it as Ctrl as psxndc suggested. In the Latin ortho mod kit I'd add another light blue r1 key as it might look weird to have either a single blank one or 2 ctrls on the left side; it might look nice if you were able to mirror the bottom row of the Latin kit like you can with the Icons kit. Can you do a render for the ortho kit? I wonder how the bottom left would look considering Z and X are a lighter blue while the left row is dark blue. I've taken a closer read of your inspiration and proposition for this set and I love your passion for the classic print. I think patterns Seigaiha and even one called "Nami Chidori" are appropriate for new deskmats, though this may be too much. My final though even more unreasonable request is for another blank white r1 key, making it the 4th in the ortho mod kit. I noticed the lack of a pair of multipurpose/"abstract" keys in the bottom row to be used in the space bar/layers area, and these keys tend to be comprised of blanks or random icons. Adding another blank white key and a pair of multipurpose keys may greatly help users with a grid and/or split layout, which split 40/50s tend to be. Sorry for the long reply, I had initially asked only for a single key to be added to the ortholinear sets and just look at how this has turned out. I'm on my phone too lol

We've updated our ortho/40s kitting, and also the columns kit, so there should be better coverage, and also random icons for use to supplement other compatibility needs.
A seigaha deskmat is very tempting (although it'd look very similar to Bentos deskmat tbh). Nami Chidori is a cool pattern, but I'd prefer Seigaha if I had to pick.

For the novelties, I recommend changing the key that says 大波 (wave) to 大浪 (onami). Just cause as a person who can read Chinese characters 大波 kinda means big boobs

All the more reason to keep it the way it is.  )

You know what you’re totally right

Due to the innuendo noted by multiple Chinese speakers, 大波 (wave) has been shifted to 大浪 (onami). The latter's second character is also the same one used in the original title, thus is a better reference to the theme.
I did partly want to keep it 大波, because it was hilarious having all these comments about its alternative meaning that I didn't know about.

90% buy for me, 100% once the Ergo goes up!

We're still working on ergo... it will take some time. Any sets (particularly gradient) with good ergo kitting you know about? If it doesn't turn out well due the pattern gradient, we might have to ditch it.

I'm in for the Alpha, Mods (one set), Novelties, and Ōnami (Hoping for 1200mm x 600mm)! Love this theme and what I'm seeing!

Thanks! I'm not sure about Onami coming in alternative sizes as 900mm x 400mm tends to be community standard and vendors' expectations.

On the Colemak kit, I see that you’ve updated the 7 and + keys to new dual legends (awesome, thank you!), but I believe the #, ], and \ keys need to be updated too. They are the same keys as on a QWERTY layout, they’ve just been moved.

That means ] needs } and \ needs |.

I must confess I don’t know what the # key is doubled up with; ~ maybe for ISO? - I’m not a wide mod or ISO person.

I wish I could @dvorcol. They’d know.

Ah thanks for pointing out these things we missed, we'll get back to rectifying it!

Any explanation why on deskmat "The Great Wave off Kanagawa" is missing 2nd boat which is on original picture and also on deskmat "Great Cats off Kanagawa" please? :-)

There's actually 3 boats, and the highest quality Great Wave off Kanagawa artwork I have on hand does not appear to have it. I'll have to research more into it, but do note that not all prints of Kanagawa are the same, because over time, the woodblock prints have variations, either unintentional when they deteriorate with use, and also when they get remade, there are adjustments deliberately done by the publisher. I'll look into this more though.

Some new renders added, featuring the Chasm (by Valheru), and LX60 (Smith). We'll drop by frequently to show off some new renders whilst we finalise the last touches on our kitting and discussions with vendors.

[Bobatype]

Kitting Updates:

KAT sculpt profile changed to R4, R4, R3, R2, R1, R1; from R5, R4, R3, R2, R1, R1 (Nopun10did suggestion).
Other profiles such as SA and Cherry profile often have their F-row and number-row be the same sculpt. Furthermore Artisan makers like RAMA, use KAT R4 profile sculpt for collabs. This will also permit 60/65% users who use latin alphas, but want Kanji numbers on their num-row, the ability to use those from F-row kit.
--
Modifiers Jap Text - legend terminology change from 機能 to 大浪 as direct reference to theme instead of being a generic term (Kidviddy suggestion)

F-Row - R5 Escape keys removed as the R4 Esc remains in the standard mods kit (the Kanji specific one will remain)

Columns - several designs changed to be more visually cohesive with existing mons


UK, Nordic, German, and Spanish - all iso enter/shift keys moved to respective Base Mod kits (icon and text). This is for easier and consistent kitting (Japanese text modifiers already has Iso enter and shift keys in it)
Spanish - excess keys removed, and optimised further to reduce kit cost
UK - alphas incorporated into the standard US Alphas (unless there are vocal complaints to split the UK alphas into its standalone alpha kit)

Colemak - punctuation keys corrected to be double legends
---
To be done:
Numpad - R5 navkeys will need to be removed (just noticed we forgot about these)

40/ortho kit - Jap text version to be rendered for purposes of polling versus English text. Only one of those options will be made available. Icon modifiers will remain

JIS - mods kit will need revision gives transition of Iso enter and shift keys into core kits. Poll results regarding 4.5u Spacebar has been sent to Keyreative. Awaiting outcome if they will make this mold or not

Consider a TKL only base kit (US Alphas + Icon mods)? Considering a kitting that is stripped back like KAT Cyberspace's TKL only kit: no compatibility for ISO, HHKB, 65%/75% etc
---
Ergo kit is currently strongly considered for exclusion due to excessive number of kits and complexity of creating a compatible kit. If you wish for this kit to be reality, please make your voice heard. Extra points if you have examples of another pattern gradient set kitting, or KLE we can follow.

Note that, despite Keyreative MOQ system being more flexible than GMK, we can't make an unlimited number of kits given the demands it places on logistics for vendors. Thus due to the limited amount of kit spots available, we will make harsh decision based on polls and designers' arbitrary preferences, on which are the kits we decide to include in the end.

[NoteMakoti]

I’d kill for an Arabic left numpad.

[Exluna]

Ok... Very interested!

[candravamsa]

Ergo kit is currently strongly considered for exclusion due to excessive number of kits and complexity of creating a compatible kit. If you wish for this kit to be reality, please make your voice heard. Extra points if you have examples of another pattern gradient set kitting, or KLE we can follow.

I would be perfectly happy with something like the SA Vilebloom!



I would probably look best for the white to transition to the blue gradients similar to the yellow to blue shift in the Vilebloom!

[Parva Ovis]

Ergo kit is currently strongly considered for exclusion due to excessive number of kits and complexity of creating a compatible kit. If you wish for this kit to be reality, please make your voice heard. Extra points if you have examples of another pattern gradient set kitting, or KLE we can follow.

Count me as another voice in favor of ergo kit! SA Vilebloom, as mentioned above, would make a good basis for a kit, but if the ergo kit could have compatibility with the current gradient alpha kits that would be great. If I have time this weekend I'll try to mock up some different kit ideas.
Edit: keeping it compatible with the alpha kits also works out better for Boardwalk users.

[Kashmir54]

Im very interested on alphas and modifiers.
The colors and letters are just perfect. Also I'm loving the deskmats.

[Sic_Alpha]

I'm interested in Ergodox

[Bobatype]

I would be perfectly happy with something like the SA Vilebloom!

I would probably look best for the white to transition to the blue gradients similar to the yellow to blue shift in the Vilebloom!

Count me as another voice in favor of ergo kit! SA Vilebloom, as mentioned above, would make a good basis for a kit, but if the ergo kit could have compatibility with the current gradient alpha kits that would be great. If I have time this weekend I'll try to mock up some different kit ideas.
Edit: keeping it compatible with the alpha kits also works out better for Boardwalk users.

I'm interested in Ergodox

Thanks for expressing interest in Ergo. The SA Vilebloom kit is unique in that it has standalone alphas and its own pattern. It doesn't have compatibility with other gradient alphas in this set, hence why we're not a fan of copying its structure (because we'd like ppl to have the option pick their preferred alphas i.e. Latin, Hiragana sublegends and Katakana only).
If you can think of a way to have an ergo kit have compatibility with the current alphas, I would love to see some kit ideas!

From looking at other sets that have Ergo kitting; some go blanks, whilst others also offer icon and/or text. We'd like to stick to just one type if possible due to SKUs. Thus we're happy to go with whatever is most preferred.
Blanks seem easiest, but I'm not sure how well liked that is compared to icons, which adds a lot of keys.
I wonder if it'll remain visually cohesive if we use legends from other kits as well (from Japanese terminology to the novelties from Mons column kit etc) to make the physically compatible keys generic enough for different use cases? Food for thought. If you have any ideas, drop your thoughts below.

In the mean-time, we've noticed a minor error with 40s/Ortho kit in terms of shift keys (some are missing), so we'll correct that.
We'll also mock up a Jap text modifier version too, as that appear to be polling better than the Latin text modifiers, thus it is highly likely it'll replace that kit. Just trying to just figure out the best terms to use in place of Lower, Raise and Code.

[Rocket]

This set is real nice, especially those mats!

[Bobatype]

Ortho/40s kitting:
Given multiple requests for a Japanese text option for Ortho/40s kit, we have decided to mock one up, and see what are people's preferences of it. Note that icon legends will remain as they're the most popular option by far.




Note that for the terms "Raise"/"Lower", we're using 水面／水底 which mean  “Above the water” and “Below the depths". Also in place of the term "Menu" we have 時化 which means "Stormy weather (at sea)". This was based off some creative suggestions from the Japanese discord community that kidviddy asked on our behalf. Opting for the thematic terms seemed more flexible for kitting, versus a conservative direct translation of exact keyboard legend terminology. Thus also considering using the term for calm sea on some of the blue blank 1us, as an opportunity to reduce 'blanks'.

To be transparent, I have a clear preference, but considering I don't use this layout, I'd like to avoid personal bias, thus here's a public poll, as we're trying to exercise some mild restraint on our number of kits: https://www.strawpoll.me/42509055

Ok... Very interested!

Im very interested on alphas and modifiers.
The colors and letters are just perfect. Also I'm loving the deskmats.

This set is real nice, especially those mats!

Thanks so much for the positive feedback!

[Bobatype]

I appreciate some ergo users voicing that they would like compatibility, versus us culling the option, however I'd like to humbly request some assistance on how to mock one up (Simple MS paint, (or KLE) is perfectly fine).  It got very confusing even doing a simpler 'blanks' kit (using one of Swishy's Ergo kits on KAM 80s after dark as a base), and the blue gradient keys for 1us stumped me. See scuffed MSPaint mockup:

(note that alphas in orange box won't be included and are purely there to portray how the mods would look with existing alphas)

EDIT: Update, I've made a blind stab at completing the blanks, but going to be honest, I have no idea if this is correct:



If you have suggestions of what legends to add (general japanese thematic text,  existing novelties, mons, icons etc) feel free to mock it up too, as I know that might be preferred to blanks.

Of course I would much prefer it to be compatible with our existing alpha patterns, however if people prefer we can just copy SA vilebloom's mirrored gradient kitting instead (see: https://assets.bigcartel.com/product_images/217414366/05_Ortho-06_Ergo.jpg?auto=format&fit=max&w=2000). This would be quite simple to do, as we would just copy its kitting.

Here's a poll about the gradient pattern options for Ergo users:
https://www.strawpoll.me/42509203

[Parva Ovis]

Here's a good resource for making KAT ergo kits: https://old.reddit.com/r/ErgoMechKeyboards/comments/i3rs23/quick_dirty_kat_ergo_kit_guide/, as there are certain considerations regarding the row/profile for some keys.

I like the gradient as-is.

If the kit uses Japanese text or novelties, that minimizes the number of keys needed in the kit. If it uses icons, additional keys will be needed; because of this, icons + Vilebloom-style gradient would be an unnecessarily bulky kit. Personally, I prefer the look of icons over the Japanese text, but it may not be worth the complication of additional keys.

I made a really ugly mockup of what Japanese text would look like, with the light blue keys blank because there was no Japanese text for me to copy, lol.

And here's a modified KLE layout http://www.keyboard-layout-editor.com/#/gists/3a2703783e148deacd213573206cb19a (the two red keys are ones where I don't know what gradient color they should be because I don't know where they go on a board).

Personally, I think a blue-on-white cherry blossom novelty would look great on one of the 2u keys. 

[Lexmor]

Hi!

Very nice set. Just a little thing on the Spanish Kit. The number 2 should be 2 and ", not @.

 

[psxndc]

Ortho/40s kitting:
Given multiple requests for a Japanese text option for Ortho/40s kit, we have decided to mock one up, and see what are people's preferences of it. Note that icon legends will remain as they're the most popular option by far.

*grumble* I was plenty happy to get the icon mods, but the weeb in me is now conflicted. Curses! *shaking fist*

[Ranger_Trivette]

Note that for the terms "Raise"/"Lower", we're using 水面／水底 which mean  “Above the water” and “Below the depths". Also in place of the term "Menu" we have 時化 which means "Stormy weather (at sea)". This was based off some creative suggestions from the Japanese discord community that kidviddy asked on our behalf. Opting for the thematic terms seemed more flexible for kitting, versus a conservative direct translation of exact keyboard legend terminology. Thus also considering using the term for calm sea on some of the blue blank 1us, as an opportunity to reduce 'blanks'.

love this 

Any explanation why on deskmat "The Great Wave off Kanagawa" is missing 2nd boat which is on original picture and also on deskmat "Great Cats off Kanagawa" please? :-)

There's actually 3 boats, and the highest quality Great Wave off Kanagawa artwork I have on hand does not appear to have it. I'll have to research more into it, but do note that not all prints of Kanagawa are the same, because over time, the woodblock prints have variations, either unintentional when they deteriorate with use, and also when they get remade, there are adjustments deliberately done by the publisher. I'll look into this more though.

Some new renders added, featuring the Chasm (by Valheru), and LX60 (Smith). We'll drop by frequently to show off some new renders whilst we finalise the last touches on our kitting and discussions with vendors.

the original printing shows 3 boat.
the version showed in the playmat isn't the original one.
i'd really appreciate the use of the original art

[Laur]

the original printing shows 3 boat.
the version showed in the playmat isn't the original one.
i'd really appreciate the use of the original art

Thanks for the feedback, the current OG art deskmat is currently a placeholder and we will be sure to get the correct version for the actual run.

[Bobatype]

Hi!

Very nice set. Just a little thing on the Spanish Kit. The number 2 should be 2 and ", not @.

 

Thanks for the heads up on that error. Really appreciate it!

Here's a good resource for making KAT ergo kits: https://old.reddit.com/r/ErgoMechKeyboards/comments/i3rs23/quick_dirty_kat_ergo_kit_guide/, as there are certain considerations regarding the row/profile for some keys.

I like the gradient as-is.

If the kit uses Japanese text or novelties, that minimizes the number of keys needed in the kit. If it uses icons, additional keys will be needed; because of this, icons + Vilebloom-style gradient would be an unnecessarily bulky kit. Personally, I prefer the look of icons over the Japanese text, but it may not be worth the complication of additional keys.

I made a really ugly mockup of what Japanese text would look like, with the light blue keys blank because there was no Japanese text for me to copy, lol.

Show Image

And here's a modified KLE layout http://www.keyboard-layout-editor.com/#/gists/3a2703783e148deacd213573206cb19a (the two red keys are ones where I don't know what gradient color they should be because I don't know where they go on a board).

Personally, I think a blue-on-white cherry blossom novelty would look great on one of the 2u keys.  :D

Hi, thanks to you (and nopunin10did) for the resources/information on ergo kitting for KAT.
Will look closer into it and spend some time getting my head around it and post up a future mock up for critiques.
I get what you mean by preference for icons (that would be my preference too). From quickly looking at that KLE you mocked up (http://www.keyboard-layout-editor.com/#/gists/3a2703783e148deacd213573206cb19a), maybe we could implement icon legends for the 1.5u keys, and a combination of non-specific japanese text, and/or novelty/mons legends to the bottom row 1u gradient modifiers on the left to keep excessive keys to a minimum. The right bottom 1u white keycaps can remain as arrow icon legends. I also have no idea what colours those red coloured keys in the KLE should be, so this may take a few revisions to get right.

Ortho/40s kitting:
Given multiple requests for a Japanese text option for Ortho/40s kit, we have decided to mock one up, and see what are people's preferences of it. Note that icon legends will remain as they're the most popular option by far.

*grumble* I was plenty happy to get the icon mods, but the weeb in me is now conflicted. Curses! *shaking fist*

haha, glad to hear that it's grabbed your interest as an alternative

[bert039]

Love this! Whats the ETA for the GB?

[Laur]

Love this! Whats the ETA for the GB?

We are looking for a June GB hopefully!

[Parva Ovis]

And here's a modified KLE layout http://www.keyboard-layout-editor.com/#/gists/3a2703783e148deacd213573206cb19a (the two red keys are ones where I don't know what gradient color they should be because I don't know where they go on a board).

I also have no idea what colours those red coloured keys in the KLE should be, so this may take a few revisions to get right.

Good news is I found a more detailed version of the guide https://geekhack.org/index.php?topic=105714.0, which says the red keys are unnecessary since they're included in the alphas.

[Bobatype]

Love this! Whats the ETA for the GB?

We are looking for a June GB hopefully!

June GB is looking very likely 

And here's a modified KLE layout http://www.keyboard-layout-editor.com/#/gists/3a2703783e148deacd213573206cb19a (the two red keys are ones where I don't know what gradient color they should be because I don't know where they go on a board).

I also have no idea what colours those red coloured keys in the KLE should be, so this may take a few revisions to get right.

Good news is I found a more detailed version of the guide https://geekhack.org/index.php?topic=105714.0, which says the red keys are unnecessary since they're included in the alphas.

Ah thank you for your clarification! Based on the rough guide by nopunin10did and your KLE assistance, I've developed a better albeit rudimentary idea of ergo kitting.
This is sort of the core structure I'm looking at: http://www.keyboard-layout-editor.com/#/gists/51155609516eaa7b0ba435cf917f7f2d

Majority will be icon legends
(Note Front text legends won't be there, they're just easy to read translations of the Japanese terms)
I've added an additional 1u inner column for increased compatibility, but will leave the legends non-specfic as novelties/mons (they will function like blanks)
I've also duplicated that bot row of gradient keys to have non-specific general Japanese terminology, and added a few extra general Jap term/novelty keys on various rows as well, to accommodate to varying preferences. 
I might add some extra 1.5u novelties as well, but I'm unsure which particular rows.
I feel like baking novelties within Ergo kitting to avoid bloating the general novelty kit for the rest of the users.

[Bobatype]

KITTING Updates
//Lighting in kits improved by Dudeship (and thanks to SGhost) to better reflect the shades of blue

Standard Modifiers (Icon, English Text and Japanese)
- ESC key is R4 (it was always intended, but on the older kit render it was accidentally in R3) [thanks to Hyurin for making us aware].

F-Row (R4) kits:
- added 2 extra keys to account for F13 layout shifting the keys left, thus altering how the colours of certain keys fall under the gradient pattern
- this will also account for 60/65% users/weebs who prefer latin alphas, but wish to use R4 Kanji in place of their arabic numerals on the num-row
- compatibility for compressed F-row layout also remains
//note the Kanji kit is more accurate, the Arabic one is still missing some keys we accidentally forgot to add

Numpad:
- forgot to ensure there is both scooped and barred 5 key options (sorry, we will add on next kit update)

Spanish Alphas:
- Number 2 - secondary legend corrected to " (from @) [thanks to Lexmor]

JIS mods:
- removed iso enter as they are part of all the standard modifiers. n.b. we also have 2u left shift and 1u right shift already in standard modifiers too.

40s/Ortho - Japanese:
- After polls in Discord, the Japanese variant is significantly more popular than the English text modifiers, thus the latter will be replaced by the former

- Added non-specific Japanese terms as legends to the existing blanks
So:
> med blue blank 1u key -> 凪 (calm (at sea)); this will mirror 時化 (stormy weather (at sea)) that exists
> darkest blue blank 1u key ->  藍 (Ai - indigo); reference to Berlin Blue (ベロリン藍/Berorin-ai) the synthetic blue paint used in wood-block prints such as the Great Wave off Kanagawa
> second darkest blue blank 1u key ->  海 (Umi - ocean)
> second lightest blue blank 1u key -> 水 (Mizu - water)
> lightest blue blank 1u key -> 青 (Ao - blue); I may have ran out of ideas, but this is a set dedicated to the beauty of the many shades of blue, so I'm running with it
> white blank 1u key -> 富嶽(Mount Fuji) [suggestion by Kidviddy, thanks!]; 富嶽  is used instead of more common 富士山 , as the former are the actual characters used in the title of the series of landscape prints the Great Wave off Kanagawa artwork features in (富嶽三十六景 - Thirty-six Views of Mount Fuji). This is similar to why 大波 was changed to 大浪

Would 40s/ortho - Icon users prefer the blanks, remain blanks, or have similar adjustments to Japanese terminology like the above?

Ergo kit added

Render of Ergo kit. Feel free to do a rough edit to do it if you have any kitting improvement suggestions or request some of the novelties changed to another design.
Thanks Parva Ovis and Nopunin10did for the general references/guide to ergo kitting for KAT

OTHER: We have nearly confirmed all our regional vendors, and have spoken to the manufacturer contact re: Group-buy date. We will reveal this soonTM
We are also currently contacting various artisan makers (feel free to DM me on Discord: BobaSweatandTears#1659) for potential collabs. At the minimum, we'll be aiming for at least a metal artisan collab, a Latrialum collab, and a cable collab.

Some new renders by Dudeship have also been added, check out the initial post for other angles:
i.e. Sunsetter (Charue Design)

and Entity:One (Dudeship)

[psxndc]

40s/Ortho - Japanese:
- After polls in Discord, the Japanese variant is significantly more popular than the English text modifiers, thus the latter will be replaced by the former

RIP wallet.

[Laur]

Vendors announced!

[Ennead]

Really liking the set and deskmats! One thing I noticed - in the Nordic kit, the ˇ~ key is white but it should be purple like the §˝ key, as it would be in the same position on EST layouts.

[jaxball30]

Hawt

[iknowreal]

I have been following this but where was the interest check poll sent. Next NA is a strong keyboard region .

[Serval]

Love the set!

[iknowreal]

I dropped almost 1k on key caps sets and I don't have a keyboard lol this can't be released so fast. Slow it down let me recoup my money in a few weeks and maybe we can talk lol. Been following this thing so long.

[Laur]

Really liking the set and deskmats! One thing I noticed - in the Nordic kit, the ˇ~ key is white but it should be purple like the §˝ key, as it would be in the same position on EST layouts.

Thanks so much for pointing this out, we've fixed it.

I dropped almost 1k on key caps sets and I don't have a keyboard lol this can't be released so fast. Slow it down let me recoup my money in a few weeks and maybe we can talk lol. Been following this thing so long.

Most likely GB in june, hopefully that will be enough .

[iknowreal]

Most likely GB in june, hopefully that will be enough

Yes that's super good.

[Parva Ovis]

The |\ key in the Ergo kit appears to be superfluous since the alpha kits include it.

[Timception]

Love the inspiration, the colors really resonate! Definitely interested for my first keycap purchase.

[ThickJimmy]

This and Space dust are going to be instabuys for me!