So! This is the last update guys!
We have new kits, new renders and all the vendors listed here. I'm going to make the GB post soon with pricess and all of that
A summary of the finalized kits:
NEW KITS!
I don't agree with making such large kitting changes (completely changing the structure of the kits) right before the GB. This doesn't give you any time to gather feedback from users, and it gives potential buyers no time to react to the changes and voice their thoughts. If I'm being honest, this feels very rushed.
That being said, as it stands, your current kitting has some issues. I'm not sure what you can do at this point, but I'm going to give you a list of these issues so that at least you're aware of them.
More
Base kit (Minimalistico)- Your base kit render is showing a duplicate F7 key and is missing an F12, but I assume that's a rendering error.
- Other than that, your base kit is missing R3 PgUp, R4 PgDn, which are popular options on modern 65% and 75% boards (you even show them in your renders); yet it includes a stepped R3 1.75u Control key, which is a lot less commonly used and isn't included in almost any GMK base kits nowadays.
R3 PgUp, R4 PgDn are also the default setup on Tada68, which you explicitly claim to support in the “compatibility check” section of the image.
If you aren't including R3 PgUp, R4 PgDn because they can be covered with novelties, then you shouldn't really include 1.5u Super keys either for the same reason.
- Speaking of 1.5u Super, your base kit is missing a second R4 1u Alt key, which is necessary in order for the 1.5u Super keys to be usable.
- The base kit is also missing an R4 1.25u Fn key, which is used on every board size from 40s all the way up to full size. In its place is a Menu key, which isn't really a fitting replacement for Fn (Fn being the more popular option). Menu is truly useful only for TKL and full-size boards (mostly OEM ones) that have an actual context menu key (in which case Fn actually is a good replacement for that). Outside of those, most people prefer to use 1.25u Fn. Because of this, Menu should have been changed to Fn or Meta.
- I personally think the purple Enter accent doesn't make sense unless it's combined with the Striscia kit, so I think this key should have been moved to the Striscia kit.
- An optional addition that some users like and that many base kits are including nowadays is F13.
Alphas kit (Alternativo)- R1 1u \| is missing, which makes it impossible to cover split backspace keyboards (including all HHKB variants) with white alphas.
Numpad kit (Milleottocento)- The R1 1u Delete key is a duplicate since there is one already included in the base kit.
- It's unclear if the 5 key is homing or not. If it's supposed to be scooped, then the barred variant should be included as well since this is a separate numpad kit. However, if it's non-homing, then that can be considered a design choice, and so it's fine to keep just that one non-homing 5 key.
- Since this is a separate numpad kit, R4 1u 00 should also be included.
- Accent-colored R1 1u = would likely be useful for more people than Pause, since num row Pause is inherently tied to OG 1800 layouts only.
40% kit (40Per100)- This kit is mostly fine, but two very notable omissions are R4 1u Lower, Raise keys and a second R4 1u Shift keys. Most ortho users will require these keys for their boards. If it comes down to that, Fn and Ctrl can be replaced with Lower and Raise without any issues.
- R4 1u Alt shouldn't be here but rather in the base kit, as mentioned previously.
- Including accent variants of 1.25u and 1.5u Enters should be a lower priority than including correct compatibility for popular layouts.
- R4 1.5u Shift would have been addition to this kit because some of the coverage in the kit (namely, 1.25u Enter for UT47.2, Whimsy etc.) is incomplete without it. 1.5u Shift also covers Nathan's Evolv 75% board and the Raine mini-1800.
- Ideally, the R3 1u Tab key would have had a more generic legend (e.g. ^) so that ortho users aren't restricted to using Tab (which is one of the less popular options in that position).
Spacebars kit (Linee)- There's no need to have two 1c spacekeys since this is only useful for ortho boards (which have their own kit where this is covered).
- A nice addition would have been two 3c spacebars since these are growing in popularity.
So! This is the last update guys!
We have new kits, new renders and all the vendors listed here. I'm going to make the GB post soon with pricess and all of that
A summary of the finalized kits:
NEW KITS!
I don't agree with making such large kitting changes (completely changing the structure of the kits) right before the GB. This doesn't give you any time to gather feedback from users, and it gives potential buyers no time to react to the changes and voice their thoughts. If I'm being honest, this feels very rushed.
That being said, as it stands, your current kitting has some issues. I'm not sure what you can do at this point, but I'm going to give you a list of these issues so that at least you're aware of them.
More
Base kit (Minimalistico)- Your base kit render is showing a duplicate F7 key and is missing an F12, but I assume that's a rendering error.
- Other than that, your base kit is missing R3 PgUp, R4 PgDn, which are popular options on modern 65% and 75% boards (you even show them in your renders); yet it includes a stepped R3 1.75u Control key, which is a lot less commonly used and isn't included in almost any GMK base kits nowadays.
R3 PgUp, R4 PgDn are also the default setup on Tada68, which you explicitly claim to support in the “compatibility check” section of the image.
If you aren't including R3 PgUp, R4 PgDn because they can be covered with novelties, then you shouldn't really include 1.5u Super keys either for the same reason.
- Speaking of 1.5u Super, your base kit is missing a second R4 1u Alt key, which is necessary in order for the 1.5u Super keys to be usable.
- The base kit is also missing an R4 1.25u Fn key, which is used on every board size from 40s all the way up to full size. In its place is a Menu key, which isn't really a fitting replacement for Fn (Fn being the more popular option). Menu is truly useful only for TKL and full-size boards (mostly OEM ones) that have an actual context menu key (in which case Fn actually is a good replacement for that). Outside of those, most people prefer to use 1.25u Fn. Because of this, Menu should have been changed to Fn or Meta.
- I personally think the purple Enter accent doesn't make sense unless it's combined with the Striscia kit, so I think this key should have been moved to the Striscia kit.
- An optional addition that some users like and that many base kits are including nowadays is F13.
Alphas kit (Alternativo)- R1 1u \| is missing, which makes it impossible to cover split backspace keyboards (including all HHKB variants) with white alphas.
Numpad kit (Milleottocento)- The R1 1u Delete key is a duplicate since there is one already included in the base kit.
- It's unclear if the 5 key is homing or not. If it's supposed to be scooped, then the barred variant should be included as well since this is a separate numpad kit. However, if it's non-homing, then that can be considered a design choice, and so it's fine to keep just that one non-homing 5 key.
- Since this is a separate numpad kit, R4 1u 00 should also be included.
- Accent-colored R1 1u = would likely be useful for more people than Pause, since num row Pause is inherently tied to OG 1800 layouts only.
40% kit (40Per100)- This kit is mostly fine, but two very notable omissions are R4 1u Lower, Raise keys and a second R4 1u Shift keys. Most ortho users will require these keys for their boards. If it comes down to that, Fn and Ctrl can be replaced with Lower and Raise without any issues.
- R4 1u Alt shouldn't be here but rather in the base kit, as mentioned previously.
- Including accent variants of 1.25u and 1.5u Enters should be a lower priority than including correct compatibility for popular layouts.
- R4 1.5u Shift would have been addition to this kit because some of the coverage in the kit (namely, 1.25u Enter for UT47.2, Whimsy etc.) is incomplete without it. 1.5u Shift also covers Nathan's Evolv 75% board and the Raine mini-1800.
- Ideally, the R3 1u Tab key would have had a more generic legend (e.g. ^) so that ortho users aren't restricted to using Tab (which is one of the less popular options in that position).
Spacebars kit (Linee)- There's no need to have two 1c spacekeys since this is only useful for ortho boards (which have their own kit where this is covered).
- A nice addition would have been two 3c spacebars since these are growing in popularity.
Thank you as always for your feedbacks kostantin!
Base kit F7 is obviously a render error, going to fix it soon, thanks for the catch
As for the base kit missing keys: choice were made to strip down kits and bring down the price. For more exotic layouts or numpad or wathever, people can mix in the 40% kit or novelty kit and live an easy life with them
Menu key: I like it more than FN, it's a choice to not have a 1.25 fn key and a 1.25 menu key
PS: tada layout (1u right cluster) is still supported with different legends.
About the numpad kit: i tried to be inclusive. People could buy the numpad without having the base kit, so adding a delete key was a choice. 5 is not scoped and it's just my choice
I was clearly pointing out the 1800 og layout with this kit (milleottocento means literally 1800)
Alpha Kit is my bad, wrong file uploaded
HHKB is completely supported (split backspace)
Thanks again for the feedback! Going to update the base with the right F row and the alpha with the |\ ! (I'm dumb, I use hhkb layout everyday)