So.... I couldn't take NOT having this set and I got some printed from WASD.
Yes, yes... we all know that keycap connoisseurs wouldn't touch a set from them with a 10 foot pole, but here we go.
Colors used:
Alphas - Beige
Modifiers - Graphite
Bottom Row - Black
Text colors (most keys) - red #C9282D
Text color (red keys) - beige #D0CCC0
The keycaps (with my original NES for comparison)
Thoughts:
Quality:Of course we're not talking anywhere near the feels of expensive keycaps. I own plenty of nice keycaps (GMK: Monkey, Hyperfuse, Hydro, Dolch; SP Granite, Eve, Industrial, Filco Hipro(brown), 3 custom color sets; Ducky gray and blue; Vortex blanks, side print; EnjoyPBT Red on Beige, Blue on Beige, Cyrillic (blue)... and 5 or 6 other sets.) Point is, I know my keycaps. I knew these would feel about like stock caps and they do. They aren't flimsy, just pretty standard. They are, however, shiny, which leads to problems with dark text on dark keys (hard to see).
Color This was a tough one, and I just had to make a call. I knew the WASD graphite was a bit too dark, but I was afraid the next lighter color (slate) wouldn't have been enough contrast. I might do another run with slate and see if it will do. The red on graphite modifiers just isn't working on this set. I think the Alphas are perfect. The red on black is okay, but the nature of UV printing makes the red a bit too pale. Plus, as I mentioned before, the shiny nature of the dark keys isn't very attractive. The beige on red is good. I could possible go a bit brighter on the font, but I like how it makes for a more worn/retro look.
LegendsI think I got the alphas just right. I want to bump up the font size of the modifiers by 1 point.
ConclusionIf anyone is interested in running a set from WASD, I would be happy to share my template file. Of course, all credit goes to panaromico for the vision and renders. Amazing work. The only thing I changed from his original concept was "Select" on the capslock, because I use it as a Function key, and "NES" for the OS key. If custom legends weren't so cost prohibitive, I had no doubt whatsoever that this set could be a full, double-shot reality. I'm just keeping the dream alive