[IC] Galaxy Class: Star Trek TNG keyset/artisan by Roddenberry Entertainment

[Zanduby]

As a bit of background: the Nav wheel design on the numpad is meant to be evocative of the helm controls wheel on the Enterprise LCARS interface, as seen in the Star Trek: The Next Generation Technical Manual.

This motif is seen through a number of TNG-era Trek designs.

Show Image

I've always enjoyed the original galaxy class set, but i've always thought it would looks a lot better with more colors, and this picture confirms that. Any chance at getting a v2 made with more oranges and other purples/blues?

[norbauer]

As a bit of background: the Nav wheel design on the numpad is meant to be evocative of the helm controls wheel on the Enterprise LCARS interface, as seen in the Star Trek: The Next Generation Technical Manual.

This motif is seen through a number of TNG-era Trek designs.

Show Image

I've always enjoyed the original galaxy class set, but i've always thought it would looks a lot better with more colors, and this picture confirms that. Any chance at getting a v2 made with more oranges and other purples/blues?

That picture is fan art and isn't accurately representative of the colors used on the original show. I own several original LCARS translites from the TNG set, and the colors of the current set were matched to those.

[thekiddzac]

Love this! Just got into mechanical keyboards and this is the first set that made me think "I gotta have that". Super stoked on the design, not so stoked on waiting, currently practicing patience....

[norbauer]

Love this! Just got into mechanical keyboards and this is the first set that made me think "I gotta have that". Super stoked on the design, not so stoked on waiting, currently practicing patience....

Awesome! Thanks for the kind words. Hopefully it won't be too long in waiting. I spoke with SP yesterday by phone and hammered out some logistics. The main task now is just figuring out how to break up the sets, and how many we need to have.

[rioc]

Love this! Just got into mechanical keyboards and this is the first set that made me think "I gotta have that". Super stoked on the design, not so stoked on waiting, currently practicing patience....

Awesome! Thanks for the kind words. Hopefully it won't be too long in waiting. I spoke with SP yesterday by phone and hammered out some logistics. The main task now is just figuring out how to break up the sets, and how many we need to have.

But not too soon either... Can't afford anymore the next two/three months, too much has been going down robbing my wallet empty

Sent from my MHA-L09 using Tapatalk

[Auk]

I like the grey legends on the numpad, definitely an upgrade!

Can you include some of the battle bridge keys? Even if it's not the full option from the previous drop and just the WASD + say the red Esc?

Since this is a dye sub set, can it include some language sets? Even if they're plain package Massdrop exclusive items and not part of the Collectors Box package.

Since this is happening in conjunction with Roddenberry, does that open the door to additional retail partnership with stores such as ForbiddenPlanet? potentially an opportunity to find a wider market that might even justify country/language specific collectors box sets?


 

[norbauer]

I like the grey legends on the numpad, definitely an upgrade!

Can you include some of the battle bridge keys? Even if it's not the full option from the previous drop and just the WASD + say the red Esc?

Since this is a dye sub set, can it include some language sets? Even if they're plain package Massdrop exclusive items and not part of the Collectors Box package.

Since this is happening in conjunction with Roddenberry, does that open the door to additional retail partnership with stores such as ForbiddenPlanet? potentially an opportunity to find a wider market that might even justify country/language specific collectors box sets?

The old Battle Bridge set is basically being absorbed into Core this time around. Having studied (via Google Image search) what configurations people seem to use most on the web, it seems like the vast majority opt for the red Esc, so I'm just making that the default color and ditching the regular Esc this time around. Since we'll also be including a special artisan, I think we've got the Esc key pretty well covered.

I've added the idea of contrasting WASD keys to my list. If anybody else wants this, please chime in.

Regarding retail partnerships, that's something that Roddenberry will have to decide, but it's possible. I know that have existing relationships with companies like Entertainment Earth and ThinkGeek.

[Auk]

Regarding retail partnerships...

Here's hoping then. ISO and language kits continue to be troublesome getting the numbers on Massdrop. If Roddenberry can organize something quickly I would hope the retail stores would be able to get a mailshot out and invite preorders from outside the regular keyboard fans.

[norbauer]

Here's another question: do most people prefer the purple spacebar to the gray one? Maybe we'll just switch that to the default option this time.

[Auk]

Not particularly a fan of the gray spacebar, but it looks OK. Have you considered using some of the other colors as alternatives? Ideally would like to see some mock ups. EDIT: some quick GIMPing later:

[PollandAkuma]

Dark blue spacebar seems subdued and nice

[mr scooty]

I like the dark blue or purple spacebars

[rioc]

purple

[thad]

Light blue or yellow.

Sent from my SM-G950U using Tapatalk

[Auk]

another thought: lighter gray matched to the new numpad?

[norbauer]

another thought: lighter gray matched to the new numpad?

(Attachment Link)

(Attachment Link)

I've been down the road of trying to match SP dyes to SP plastics before, and I can tell you it's not fun. :|

I think that the purple spacebar (or light blue) probably evokes the characteristic right-angle frames of LCARS design best. Purple is probably also best because it doesn't orphan those two purple 1.25 keys off to the right of the spacebar.

[Auk]

I've been down the road of trying to match SP dyes to SP plastics before, and I can tell you it's not fun. :|

You've just nicely preemptively answered the question I was about to ask on that very subject! i.e. does the base color came from the plastic itself or is the whole key dye subbed, but I'm still curious: could the whole key be dye subbed or would it come out unevenly colored?

Since there is no legend on the spacebar I'm guessing it would be possible to get a color match, but it would look unacceptable and unprofessional if was uneven.

[norbauer]

I've been down the road of trying to match SP dyes to SP plastics before, and I can tell you it's not fun. :|

You've just nicely preemptively answered the question I was about to ask on that very subject! i.e. does the base color came from the plastic itself or is the whole key dye subbed, but I'm still curious: could the whole key be dye subbed or would it come out unevenly colored?

Since there is no legend on the spacebar I'm guessing it would be possible to get a color match, but it would look unacceptable and unprofessional if was uneven.

The underlying base color of the keycap isn't from dye; it is inherent in the plastic resin itself. With doubleshot, you have two colored resins injected together to form a single keyface in two colors. With dyesub you have one colored resin with dye infused into its face to form the two colors.

In general, the dye sub process is somewhat limited, unfortunately. Even the numpad design as it is is a bit tricky, as they don't always get the registration perfect and my graphics run to right to the edge of the key face. (You don't notice registration issues as much when it's just a letter that is offset from the face a bit.)

Dye sublimation results are also a bit tricky to predict because the color you apply in dye mixes with the substrate color a bit in generating the final look of the legend on the keycap.

[Auk]

Dye sublimation results are also a bit tricky to predict

Thank you for indulging my questions 

As for which spacebar color. I think if the choice comes down to the original gray, purple or light blue, I slightly prefer the purple.

Since you also mentioned the two purple modifier keys being orphaned, you clarified why the dark blue didn't look quite right as well. You could change the orphaned key colors, but I'm not sure if that quite fits either.

[zslane]

I think a spacebar matching the alphas should be the default, and then colors like purple, yellow, and/or the mod color as alternatives. I don't think the LCARS motif justifies violating the standard expectation that the spacebar will match the alphas.

[Auk]

...I don't think the LCARS motif justifies violating the standard expectation that the spacebar will match the alphas.

The writers and designers of the Star Trek universe put so much effort into continuity, I think fans would appreciate the attention to detail if the set gets closer to the LCARS conventions even if it breaks with the traditional pattern of alphas and modifiers. If a keycap set can justify breaking with tradition, Galaxy Class looks like a good candidate to do so.

[Elrick]

Roddenberry Entertainment, the creators of Star Trek, have recently asked me to work with the keyboard hobbyist community to design and bring a licensed Galaxy Class keyset into being, with its design inspired by the in-universe "LCARS" computer graphical interfaces used in Star Trek: The Next Generation. This new set will include trademarked Star Trek insignia keys, custom Roddenberry collector's packaging, and a special artisan keycap. Roddenberry has a long tradition of making Star Trek-branded desk/office accessories, stretching back into the 1960s and 1970s, so they're very eager for this to be a new evolution of a category of product that they have long supported. The fact that we're doing this during TNG's 30th anniversary is a fortuitous bonus.

Hey, that is one brilliant acknowledgment from Hollywood here, that your key-set has been noticed by the propaganda machine in LA    .

Don't take my comment as a negative because this is the place that can make you into something important, simply because you have produced something that promotes their by-gone productions.  Hollywood has always been about making money on everything, including past productions.

You should also note that you need to use their own registered LOGOs this time because it will make this key-set far more legitimate in everyone's eyes, especially among the Star Trek fanatics which this key-set is targeting.  If this proves even more successful then you should watch out for any future endorsements in regards to other movie franchises.  If you've got noticed in Hollywood for this set then there is hope for other movie production promos that might use (need) specifically designed key-sets.

Always keep your options open for anything because this is after all,  the home of dreams for any individual.

Good luck on this  .

[zslane]

...I don't think the LCARS motif justifies violating the standard expectation that the spacebar will match the alphas.

The writers and designers of the Star Trek universe put so much effort into continuity, I think fans would appreciate the attention to detail if the set gets closer to the LCARS conventions even if it breaks with the traditional pattern of alphas and modifiers. If a keycap set can justify breaking with tradition, Galaxy Class looks like a good candidate to do so.

Except that LCARS panels don't conform to the form and layout of our computer keyboards to begin with. So the fact that there are F-row keys, and a numpad, and a spacebar at all are all concessions to the need to adapt LCARS to a conventional keyboard layout. I see no value in going out of the way to treat the spacebar as a special case, and for no reason (that I can discern) other than to make it "stand out".

[rioc]

...I don't think the LCARS motif justifies violating the standard expectation that the spacebar will match the alphas.

The writers and designers of the Star Trek universe put so much effort into continuity, I think fans would appreciate the attention to detail if the set gets closer to the LCARS conventions even if it breaks with the traditional pattern of alphas and modifiers. If a keycap set can justify breaking with tradition, Galaxy Class looks like a good candidate to do so.

Except that LCARS panels don't conform to the form and layout of our computer keyboards to begin with. So the fact that there are F-row keys, and a numpad, and a spacebar at all are all concessions to the need to adapt LCARS to a conventional keyboard layout. I see no value in going out of the way to treat the spacebar as a special case, and for no reason (that I can discern) other than to make it "stand out".

I think the purple spacebar matches best since it makes a nice frame-half alongside the yellow mods and numbers around the alpha cluster

[Skull_Angel]

I'm probably the only one that thinks the pink spacebar looks great, huh?

[ski_]

The colorways looks great!  It's a shame there is no Ergodox set though...

[Seelen]

Love the idea and I've always been intrigued by the set...to be honest though, I always thought it was a TOS set, given the colors. For TNG, I'd assume to see a lot more yellow and purple. That faded blue makes it look very dated and always made me question the SF era the board belonged in.

When I think of TNG, my mind immediately moves towards that 90s-futuristic rich royal purple, with a subdued vibrance that "pops" without being overwhelming.

Otherwise, I love it and will likely be in for it!

[norbauer]

Many thanks to livingspeedbump for helping me work out some ways to break up sets into three subsets that will hopefully work for the most amount of people and layouts without getting too crazy down the rabbit hole or forcing people to pay for too many more caps than they want.

I think this is the likely break-down:

• Core including ISO
• Numpad
• Alternate extras w/7u spacebar

As shown in the three groupings below:



I'm working on the design for the artisan today and will post once I have something to share there.

[Vigrith]

Livingspeedbump is the best - I'm glad he helped you work out the kinks for the offered kits. I'm very happy with the way things are looking personally.

[Auk]

• Numpad

are you dropping the nav wheel graphic?

EDIT: I just realized that image for the key groups has none of the Galaxy Class legends, so that's probably why there is no nav wheel graphic on the numpad...

[norbauer]

• Numpad

are you dropping the nav wheel graphic?

EDIT: I just realized that image for the key groups has none of the Galaxy Class legends, so that's probably why there is no nav wheel graphic on the numpad...

Your edit is correct. This is just the key breakdown. I'll turn it into graphical mock-ups next.

[Mr_BeastQuake]

Many thanks to livingspeedbump for helping me work out some ways to break up sets into three subsets that will hopefully work for the most amount of people and layouts without getting too crazy down the rabbit hole or forcing people to pay for too many more caps than they want.

I think this is the likely break-down:

• Core including ISO
• Numpad
• Alternate extras w/7u spacebar

As shown in the three groupings below:

Show Image

I'm working on the design for the artisan today and will post once I have something to share there.

 :thumb:

[consolation]

Your edit is correct. This is just the key breakdown. I'll turn it into graphical mock-ups next.

I would just add one suggestion to your kits, add a handful of blank (purple?) keys in "common odd" sizes to the "extended" kit; 1u, 1.25u, 1.5u, 1.75, 2.0u. Five blank kits won't add much to the price, but (because DSA profile is row agnostic) it will exponentially increase the odd layouts it will be able to accommodate. For example, split backspace and split r shifts, 1u tab and 1.25 caps lock compact designs, etc..

The other option, is to beef up the blanks into a separate kit by having the keys in yellow and purple colours, plus, adding a 2x 3u split spacebar key; since split spacebar designs are all the rage atm. Going the separate blanks kit route would also help Japanese (JIS) board users.

I really like the way you used the purple and yellow to recall the Lcars interface in an earth style keyboard. Maybe carry  it on to the numpad by having the purple go along the top (from the 3 purple logos) then down the middle of the keypad (963 column) splitting it into two areas of different colour either side.

 

[norbauer]

Hey all. Sorry about the brief silence. I had a busy couple of weeks with other (sadly) non-keyboard projects.

Below are the proper graphical mockups of the kits as suggested by livingspeedbump. You can consider this a working draft of the sets that will be offered. I'll probably also add some alternate logo keys with Ferengi, Romulan, etc. artwork.

I'm a little concerned about the maximum resolvable detail, however, so Melissa at SP is currently printing us some samples of the UFOP logo on a 1u key to see if it looks good with all those tiny details.

Oh, and I'm about half way finished with the 3D model for the artisan cap and will post that as soon as I have it.

[norbauer]

Here is one concept I had for the artisan. This would be cast in bronze.

[robotsokk]

Wow, that looks great. I think the sizing is good -- nice and balanced.

[eksuen]

Here is one concept I had for the artisan. This would be cast in bronze.

Show Image

Damn, that's snazzy. Norbauer, going where no man has gone before.

[mr scooty]

any idea how much time I have to prepare my wallet for this? this set is looking more and more like an instabuy for me

[norbauer]

any idea how much time I have to prepare my wallet for this? this set is looking more and more like an instabuy for me

I'm still trying to work that out. There are a lot of moving parts to this with the packaging, artisan, and core caps all coming from different vendors, and then coordinating final details with both Massdrop and Roddenberry, so I'd say your wallet can rest easy for at least a month or two. ;) But hopefully not too much longer than that.

[norbauer]

OK, the artisan model is now at the metal casting workshop in New England and they're going to make me up a prototype in brass/bronze. They've done amazing work for me and Roddeberry in the past. Here is a video I made about the Vulcan IDIC that they manufactured from my design. These guys are top notch, and the owner happens to be a big Star Trek fan.

[TomBodet]

OK, the artisan model is now at the metal casting workshop in New England and they're going to make me up a prototype in brass/bronze. They've done amazing work for me and Roddeberry in the past. Here is a video I made about the Vulcan IDIC that they manufactured from my design. These guys are top notch, and the owner happens to be a big Star Trek fan.

sweeeet.

[LensBlair]

@norbauer Love the keyset so far, glad it's making an official return!

One tiny nitpick: "CON" (the Insert key) should probably read "CONN". In the shows and films where the navigational controls are referred to as "the conn," subtitles spell it with two Ns. (Someone please correct me if I'm wrong!)

Again, really minor thing. Really looking forward to buying the keyset when it's ready!

[norbauer]

@norbauer Love the keyset so far, glad it's making an official return!

One tiny nitpick: "CON" (the Insert key) should probably read "CONN". In the shows and films where the navigational controls are referred to as "the conn," subtitles spell it with two Ns. (Someone please correct me if I'm wrong!)

Again, really minor thing. Really looking forward to buying the keyset when it's ready!

That's interesting. You're right. I'll change that. I got confused because the term is short for "Flight Controller," so I have no idea where the extra n comes from, but it's totally the correct spelling.

[amnesia0287]

Conn is a nautical term. Not one for flight controller.

The conn is control of the ship. It literally means the act of conducting (where the word originates) a ship. Because big ships are complex and can't be run effectively they always have a single person in charge. It's used a bit odd because you will hear the saying "you have the conn" when it actually means is you have control/command.

[norbauer]

Conn is a nautical term. Not one for flight controller.

The conn is control of the ship. It literally means the act of conducting (where the word originates) a ship. Because big ships are complex and can't be run effectively they always have a single person in charge. It's used a bit odd because you will hear the saying "you have the conn" when it actually means is you have control/command.

In Star Trek, the terminology is somewhat muddled.

http://memory-alpha.wikia.com/wiki/Flight_controller

[norbauer]

I've finished the draft packaging designs and will send them off on Monday for a prototype/sample to be made.




When I say "cardboard," I mean solid board, not corrugated.

[BaconEggandCheeseBagel]

Norbauer, just wanted to thank you for all the hard work and passion you've put into this project. As a avid and lifelong Star Trek fan myself (one of the biggest influences in my child and adult life), the amount of thought you've put into this is clearly visible. Looking forward to this project (and your realforce case) immensely! Keep up the awesome work!

[Oblotzky]

Sadly not interested due to profile, but damn I wanna own this regardless. This is going to be a nice collectible!

[norbauer]

Norbauer, just wanted to thank you for all the hard work and passion you've put into this project. As a avid and lifelong Star Trek fan myself (one of the biggest influences in my child and adult life), the amount of thought you've put into this is clearly visible. Looking forward to this project (and your realforce case) immensely! Keep up the awesome work!

Thanks so much! Perhaps needless to say, Star Trek (and TNG in particular) has been one of the biggest influences on both my childhood and adult selves as well.

[FuriousGeorge]

It's looking great. I've always liked this set even if I'm not a huge fan of dsa. It may be finally time to buy. The alternate layout looks great. Should cover all the majors. Should there be homing and non-homing F and J keys in the main set? Same thing with the 5 in the numpad set.