I'm going to respond to everybody until so far in one post. I want to thank you all for contributing in this topic, we really appreciate the time you invest to take a look.
Could you describe the benefits of this keyboard over say, the Corsair line of gaming keyboards? (this seems to come quite close to their design)
Are you able to be more specific about the switches (actual Cherrys?), and keycaps (ie material)?
Not much to really comment on so far with the information given.
Thanks for your comment, I'm going to expand a bit on this post:
I failed to note that we're looking for feedback on the overall design and anything noticeable. We're releasing details of the keyboard every week through our developer blog posts, as we want to pace the entire keyboard and progressively improve on our initial ideas. Also we're restricted by several factors that don't allow us to fully disclose the exact details of the keyboard yet.
Most of the details I'm able to release can be found on either the
blog post or through the comments in the
reddit post. The latter has become quite a list of answers and questions. We will soon summarize the highlights of this post.
Everybody has his own preference in a keyboard, therefore it's hard for me to tell you what makes this keyboard better than others or Corsair. There are some dominant factors that will distinguish our keyboard by far with anything out there, but I can't go into these details yet.
But based on the information released until so far, and quickly from the top of my head:
- Compact design
- TKL design (preference)
- no extra dedicated keys (e.g. windows lock, media keys, macro)
- Function key toggle, making media key layer first not secondary (more about this in our upcoming blog)
- Less gamer flair, more mature design
- Detachable USB
- Standard layout = can use majority aftermarket keycaps
As I've mentioned before, we're not trying to distinguish ourselves specifically on the design (including keycaps), there are already so many different great options for mechanical keyboards, and otherwise you can just build the one you love.
So to answer the switches question, all I can say for now is that we're not using Kaihl. As for the keycaps, they'll be lasered opaque ABS caps to go with our white LED and on selected keys white+red LED backlight.
A few comments:
-I don't like either the TKL form factor or the floating key design, but I know that a lot of people do, so I'll leave these issues aside. Anyway, the floating key design is probably a good choice from a marketing perspective, thanks to the prevalence of morons who see the exposed plate of something like a Corsair and go, "Wow! Much metal! So quality!", even though they're actually looking at a part of the keyboard (the plate) that is metal in most mechanical keyboards, and all that is actually different is that plastic pieces which usually cover that metal have been removed.
-I think the main question for something like this has to be: what's it for? I don't really see anything about it to make it interesting. Maybe you have some kind of interesting feature that you haven't revealed yet, but without knowing that, it's hard to see what the point of yet another "normal" keyboard would be.
-It's hard to tell from the renders, but the front of the case has me a bit worried. Given what you've said elsewhere about pricing, there's no chance that you'll have a good wrist rest included, so the design has to be able to accommodate a 3rd party wrist rest placed in front of it without a big gap.
-If you want this to be a gaming-oriented keyboard, then your "optimized" function key layout makes no sense. Given that the typical gamer keeps their keyboard hand on or near WASD, you've managed to put the media controls just about as far away as possible.
-Removable cable is a cause for concern. In general, the ports for such cables tend to be failure points; they're often more vulnerable to damage than either the cables themselves or the connection for a non-removable cable (assuming that the keyboard has been designed with proper stress relief).
Really appreciate the time you invest, and the input. Thanks.
To answer:
1. I feel you. From a practicality/durability perspective you'd might want to have the additional cover piece. But we've deliberately chosen for a floating key design for another reason, yet to be announced. It also helped us to add a bit more gamer feel to it.
2. The main reason behind this post was for an impression on our design. We had no intention to announce all the specifications of the keyboard. As I've mentioned before, we want to introduce all the features and aspects of the keyboard in a pace, so that we can progressively improve on our initial ideas. E.g. a major change we're probably going to make is to add some type of numpad layer on the 789 keys.
I'm sorry if I've formulated my initial post wrong.
3. This is also something that's come to our attention, thanks to you all. We need to test it out and see what the actual impact is. We might shorten the front bezel as a result.
4. Interesting point. We felt that media keys were not something that important to have on your left hand side, and you'd rather use the second layer for your own macro/hotkeys. We strategically placed the media and other keys in a compact area of underused keys. It's easy to reach all of them quickly with your right hand. On top of that we have a Fn toggle key that allows you to put the media keys on the first layer instead of the second.
Also It's easier to take your hand off the mouse to press something, then to stop walking or awkwardly position the left hand to play the next song, which you'll never do in a tense situation.
5. This is something we've also learned from you all and we're not sure what the net effect will be, but nonetheless, the masses will prefer detachables, just like we do. Just hate rolling the cable around the keyboard or dangling it around.
I anticipate that it will be confused with Corsair's.
I suppose that the 3D model of the keycaps is just really bad, and that you will use regular OEM profile keycaps.
BTW, the 3D render has only two keys shared between Del, End and PgDn ...
You're right. lol.
Actually, since it's lasered and manufactured for our keyboard, we're free to play around with the fonts. We're only restricted in the keycap mold we're using.
Not sure what you mean with that it only has two keys shared between Del, End and PgDn.
The font is not that bad. However, the name "Wooting" is kinda weird. I legit thought this thread was going to be someone asking for advice on how to get their keyboard to stop making farting sounds. I realize that makes no sense. Why would a keyboard make farting sounds, and why would someone refer to that sound as "wooting". IDK, I'm just saying that is what I thought.
The board itself looks much better than a Corsair and you get a big plus for a standard layout.
It's funny how people read it haha. We had another guy who read it as Wu-Tang keyboard. Thanks for the compliment!
Only thing really turning me off is the font on the caps. Besides that, it basically looks like a much nicer corsair k-line board
We're still playing with the fonts and icons, but in the end we're going for something a bit plain and not too "futuristic" as you would find it on a majority of gaming keyboards. We don't want to stand out with some type of special font, rather leave that job to the keycap aftermarket.
Thanks for the compliment though!
That's interesting, you go for a design that is close to what Corsair does yet, it's much better looking.
I'll throw what I notice in no specific order:
The caps in the render looks way too scooped, compared to what it will looks.
Font is meh, and position of it is not consistent (Esc+Tab Top Left while rest is centered).
Show Image
The inclined front of the keyboard will not look great with most of the Wrist Rests.
The feets that add angle to the board look very not solid, and I see no rubber on it to avoid sliding.
You might want to add pass through under the board like this .
Show Image
What is the plan for switches ? Cherries only or expand for other cherry clones like Gaterons or kailhs?
What is the plan for keycaps ?
Please consider ISO layout.
Thanks for the compliment! It's funny how everybody sees corsair line in it, while we didn't aim for it.
Now to answer:
- We're still playing around with the fonts and icons. But as you can read above, in the end we won't distinguish ourselves with it with flashy things. Took note of the inconsistency.
- The font bezel might not look the best with wrist pads, also thanks to you all, we're looking if it will influence the ergonomics. We need to play around with it a bit more
- It's hard to see on the bottom render (didn't work out too well), but it actually has an under passthrough. Sharp noticing the rubber feet, we overseen it in the render. We're adding it to the next version.
- Going to reuse this line: So to answer the switches question, all I can say for now is that we're not using Kaihl. As for the keycaps, they'll be lasered opaque ABS caps to go with our white LED and on selected keys white+red LED backlight
- ISO Layout, we've been talking about it, and it all depends on demand. If our production is high enough it's not too hard for us to configure one. But if it's not, we are only able to do it by per piece production, which will cost more. Still figuring out the best solution here, but like I said, it mainly depends on demand.
