[IC] DSA Borealis - The Northern Lights Themed Keyset NOW AVAILABLE

[Jmeferlater]

Love the new constellations. Have you consider playing with the weights of the points? I know some stars are brighter than other perhaps it would look cool if those points were bigger.

pic for reference

https://catholicsouthernfront.files.wordpress.com/2009/12/thuban_map.jpg

The weights actually are a little different right now but only slightly. Arhipio originally made the differences a lot bigger, but I thought it looked a little off.
We could change it back to the original sizes and see if that looks better

[Arhipio]

Love the new constellations. Have you consider playing with the weights of the points? I know some stars are brighter than other perhaps it would look cool if those points were bigger.

pic for reference

https://catholicsouthernfront.files.wordpress.com/2009/12/thuban_map.jpg

We have I guess it isn't that noticeable. If you look at Lyra you can see Vega is larger than the rest of the stars.

[Vigrith]

Only set I've ever liked with those "row gradient" layouts - I tend to dislike them all, but this one is lovely and I'll definitely buy one regardless of profile (I do like DSA though) if/once they become available.

[Arhipio]

Love the new constellations. Have you consider playing with the weights of the points? I know some stars are brighter than other perhaps it would look cool if those points were bigger.

pic for reference

https://catholicsouthernfront.files.wordpress.com/2009/12/thuban_map.jpg

We did play around with different point weights. It's probably just hard to see but it's there. Especially if you look at Lyra. I could go back and try and emphasize them more. Edit: didn't realize there was a second page to the forum post so I thought my original comment didn't register. Ooops

[Jmeferlater]

Only set I've ever liked with those "row gradient" layouts - I tend to dislike them all, but this one is lovely and I'll definitely buy one regardless of profile (I do like DSA though) if/once they become available.

Thank you, I'm glad to hear that.


Aside: Just updated OP with the novelties

[Jmeferlater]

Hey guys. Just heard back from SP, there is no problem with using glow in the dark legends for all the keys, which is great to hear.
However, there might be a problem with readability on the bottom row, so I updated the OP with renders with the correct legend colors to give an idea of what it would look like.
Let me know any concerns you might have about the lack of contrast in the bottom row.

[zacheadams]

Hey guys. Just heard back from SP, there is no problem with using glow in the dark legends for all the keys, which is great to hear.
However, there might be a problem with readability on the bottom row, so I updated the OP with renders with the correct legend colors to give an idea of what it would look like.
Let me know any concerns you might have about the lack of contrast in the bottom row.

You're doing god's work.  I don't like the bottom row color it as much as the last render, but it does increase contrast with the other colors, which is interesting in and of itself.

EDIT: I'm a moron.

[Jmeferlater]

You're doing god's work.  I don't like the bottom row color it as much as the last render, but it does increase contrast with the other colors, which is interesting in and of itself.

The previous render wasn't using the glow in the dark legends, it was just normal yellow that I forgot to change, this newest render changed the color of the legends to the glow in the dark

[zacheadams]

I was looking at the wrong pic at the top, don't mind me ~_~

EDIT, actual feedback: I wonder if the "up" arrowkey would look better matching the bottom three arrowkeys.

[Jmeferlater]

I was looking at the wrong pic at the top, don't mind me ~_~

EDIT, actual feedback: I wonder if the "up" arrowkey would look better matching the bottom three arrowkeys.

Changing the up arrowkey might go against the gradient idea though. Would probably make it look off

[zacheadams]

The far right enter (in the numpad zone) already covers two rows with bright green, is this any better/worse? (It's not like that key will get color split.)

[Jmeferlater]

The far right enter (in the numpad zone) already covers two rows with bright green, is this any better/worse? (It's not like that key will get color split.)

The numpad enter is at the very end of the board, which is better than breaking the gradient partway through. Plus, that enter key is only one key, no matter what it would cover two rows with one color, there's no other way to do it.

[rondg]

Please add support for the 1800 layout 

[chuckdee]

In like Flynn!  Nice colorway!

[Data]

Definitely some concerns with contrast on the bottom row.  Still looking good though.

[Jmeferlater]

Hey guys, I appreciate the feedback.

I've been exchanging interesting emails with SP recently, and should hopefully have an exciting update soon.
However, as of right now I need to work on child kits, currently I have in mind the base kit (alphas + mods), numpad, nonstandard, ergodox, planck, and novelties. Any thoughts or recommendations for more kits I should include? Let me know if I'm missing something I should definitely have 

[Niomosy]

I would imagine an ISO kit will be requested if not already included in one of the already noted kits.

[Jmeferlater]

Updated OP with rough draft of child kits. Let me know what you think.

[D4ndie]

Those novelties are amazing.
I really hope this'll go nice with the purple Constellation Jelly Key

[Jmeferlater]

Those novelties are amazing.
I really hope this'll go nice with the purple Constellation Jelly Key

All credit goes to Arhipio for designing the novelties.
The theme would go perfectly with the jelly key imo

[Vigrith]

Those novelties are amazing.
I really hope this'll go nice with the purple Constellation Jelly Key

All credit goes to Arhipio for designing the novelties.
The theme would go perfectly with the jelly key imo

Agreed, I also got a purple JellyKey constellation artisan and think it'll look great with this set (I actually bought all four of them and think they'd all look very cool with this set).

I like the Novelties a lot, though I liked the telescope one you designed too, did you scrap it for any particular reason or is it just missing from the current novelties picture?

That said, I don't see a 1.75u shift for the WhiteFox layouts on any of the child kits - in my opinion, which admittedly is biased because I own a WF already and have a second one coming from the latest batch for the office, you could just add in the 1.75u shift into the base kit given the keyboard's popularity as of late (1.5k~ sold first round, about the same for the second run); having to buy an entire non-standard modifier kit just for 1 key turns a lot of people off (myself included, even though I've done it before) so maybe it'd be nice to have the base be produced with 1 extra key if it doesn't completely skew the production costs and all that. It may be obsolete for people who do not own a WhiteFox or Tangsan style board but so are the TKL design ones for people with 60-70% layouts, etc.

Food for thought I suppose, I suggested this exact same thing in the SA Miami Dolch thread earlier and MacGruber (the creator) mentioned I was not the first person to request 1.75u accommodation so I'd imagine it may be worthwhile looking into at least.

[Jmeferlater]

Those novelties are amazing.
I really hope this'll go nice with the purple Constellation Jelly Key

All credit goes to Arhipio for designing the novelties.
The theme would go perfectly with the jelly key imo

Agreed, I also got a purple JellyKey constellation artisan and think it'll look great with this set (I actually bought all four of them and think they'd all look very cool with this set).

I like the Novelties a lot, though I liked the telescope one you designed too, did you scrap it for any particular reason or is it just missing from the current novelties picture?

That said, I don't see a 1.75u shift for the WhiteFox layouts on any of the child kits - in my opinion, which admittedly is biased because I own a WF already and have a second one coming from the latest batch for the office, you could just add in the 1.75u shift into the base kit given the keyboard's popularity as of late (1.5k~ sold first round, about the same for the second run); having to buy an entire non-standard modifier kit just for 1 key turns a lot of people off (myself included, even though I've done it before) so maybe it'd be nice to have the base be produced with 1 extra key if it doesn't completely skew the production costs and all that. It may be obsolete for people who do not own a WhiteFox or Tangsan style board but so are the TKL design ones for people with 60-70% layouts, etc.

Food for thought I suppose, I suggested this exact same thing in the SA Miami Dolch thread earlier and MacGruber (the creator) mentioned I was not the first person to request 1.75u accommodation so I'd imagine it may be worthwhile looking into at least.

I scrapped the telescope novelty just because I didn't like it as much as the constellations and I didn't want to have too many novelties. There were more constellations that Arhipio designed as well, but I decided to limit it to my 5 favorite.

As for the extra key, I'll make sure to see if adding one or two keys (I also don't have a stepped caps lock anywhere I realize) to the base kit would have any major impact on the price. It's only one or two more keys so I don't really see how it could have a major effect, but I would like to check if it would make more sense than just adding on to the non-standard kit

I decided to make the base kit TKL because I think it would be better to include the full gradient in one kit instead of breaking it apart. In my opinion this set is kinda meant to be bought as at least a TKL, but I can definitely see how having those extra keys would be a waste for someone with a 60-70%.

More thoughts on this would be great to hear

[Vigrith]

I scrapped the telescope novelty just because I didn't like it as much as the constellations and I didn't want to have too many novelties. There were more constellations that Arhipio designed as well, but I decided to limit it to my 5 favorite.

As for the extra key, I'll make sure to see if adding one or two keys (I also don't have a stepped caps lock anywhere I realize) to the base kit would have any major impact on the price. It's only one or two more keys so I don't really see how it could have a major effect, but I would like to check if it would make more sense than just adding on to the non-standard kit

I decided to make the base kit TKL because I think it would be better to include the full gradient in one kit instead of breaking it apart. In my opinion this set is kinda meant to be bought as at least a TKL, but I can definitely see how having those extra keys would be a waste for someone with a 60-70%.

More thoughts on this would be great to hear

Ah, understandable. Yea the constellations look great and possibly better than the telescope yea, you chose the better ones too in my opinion.

I think making the base kit TKL is definitely the correct decision, I was not questioning that at all as I personally own TKLs myself (novatouch being the one I use the most), only reason I mentioned some of the keys going to "waste" for people with 60-70% was to make the point that including the 1.75u right shift for WhiteFox users is pretty much the same thing in terms of certain buyers not having a use for it.

Adding it to the non-standard kit is what most people did before at least but seeing as it's literally just the one key out of like 30 to 40, I feel that now with how many units of it are out in the wild already from the first round and how many will be making their way to the second round buyers before the end of the year adding it in to new sets base kits might be an interesting move by the creators. Maybe I'm just biased though, most of this is conjecture as it's obviously hard to predict how many WF users will be interested etc but yea, if you include it in the non-standard I'll definitely be buying it regardless!

[sek1ne]

These look great! I'm definitely interested. I really like the colourway and the GID.

[Jmeferlater]

Updated base kit to include an Esc for lower row, a 1.75u shift, and a stepped caps lock

[Vigrith]

Updated base kit to include an Esc for lower row, a 1.75u shift, and a stepped caps lock

That's so sick, thank you, I actually have a use for all of those (except the Esc potentially as I'll use one of the JellyKeys constellations there probably). I'm sure a lot more people will appreciate it!

[chuckdee]

Updated OP with rough draft of child kits. Let me know what you think.

Instead of Planck, can you make it 40% for all?  With the separate for Planck and 40%, I'm just concerned about it hitting MOQ otherwise.

[Jmeferlater]

Updated base kit to include an Esc for lower row, a 1.75u shift, and a stepped caps lock

That's so sick, thank you, I actually have a use for all of those (except the Esc potentially as I'll use one of the JellyKeys constellations there probably). I'm sure a lot more people will appreciate it!

I forgot to mention that I haven't yet checked with SP about the cost effects of adding those keys. But I would like to push to have as many keys in the base kit as possible, so unless there's a big issue with it, this should be how the base kit is.

Updated OP with rough draft of child kits. Let me know what you think.

Instead of Planck, can you make it 40% for all?  With the separate for Planck and 40%, I'm just concerned about it hitting MOQ otherwise.

That's a good idea, I'll definitely consider it. My only concern is, would people who only own a Planck be willing to spend more for those extra keys?

[Jmeferlater]

Any thoughts if this needs a non-standard kit? Or do the current sets cover most bases here? Maybe re-label the 40% kit to an Alternate Layout kit?

[Vigrith]

The keyboards I currently use are reduced to a WhiteFox and a Novatouch (and my FC660C of course but that's irrelevant here) so to me the kits are perfectly fine as is, I have just ordered Evan's MiniVan 2 though from Massdrop earlier when the drop opened so the idea regarding 40% over just Planck may be smart, I don't know much about ≤50% layouts honestly. I like the idea you proposed of just re-labelling the 40% to alternate layout, most keys for other non-standard layouts are already covered.

Regarding checking with SP regarding cost effects of adding the three extra keys for the base kit, I hope it turns out for the best - wish it's doable to release it like that, perfect for my personal needs. Let us know when they give you an answer regarding that!

[chuckdee]

Updated base kit to include an Esc for lower row, a 1.75u shift, and a stepped caps lock

That's so sick, thank you, I actually have a use for all of those (except the Esc potentially as I'll use one of the JellyKeys constellations there probably). I'm sure a lot more people will appreciate it!

I forgot to mention that I haven't yet checked with SP about the cost effects of adding those keys. But I would like to push to have as many keys in the base kit as possible, so unless there's a big issue with it, this should be how the base kit is.

Updated OP with rough draft of child kits. Let me know what you think.

Instead of Planck, can you make it 40% for all?  With the separate for Planck and 40%, I'm just concerned about it hitting MOQ otherwise.

That's a good idea, I'll definitely consider it. My only concern is, would people who only own a Planck be willing to spend more for those extra keys?

It just worked for Chocolatier,  which is what made me think of it.

The keyboards I currently use are reduced to a WhiteFox and a Novatouch (and my FC660C of course but that's irrelevant here) so to me the kits are perfectly fine as is, I have just ordered Evan's MiniVan 2 though from Massdrop earlier when the drop opened so the idea regarding 40% over just Planck may be smart, I don't know much about ≤50% layouts honestly. I like the idea you proposed of just re-labelling the 40% to alternate layout, most keys for other non-standard layouts are already covered.

Regarding checking with SP regarding cost effects of adding the three extra keys for the base kit, I hope it turns out for the best - wish it's doable to release it like that, perfect for my personal needs. Let us know when they give you an answer regarding that!

The Whitefox has some peculiarities also- not so sure that as is,  base + mods is going to fit it.   Packing all of those + 40% into one would definitely make the price skyrocket however.

[Jmeferlater]

Edited OP to change 40% kit to alternate Layout kit. I just think that makes the most sense

Sent from my HTC6545LVW using Tapatalk

[Vigrith]

The Whitefox has some peculiarities also- not so sure that as is,  base + mods is going to fit it.   Packing all of those + 40% into one would definitely make the price skyrocket however.

Actually you're right, I forgot the vanilla layout was a thing (ISO is different too but that's a different kit all-together), that one uses 1x1 R1 right side mods. I was mostly thinking of the TrueFox and Aria seeing as those are supposedly the most popular and use full TKL mods as far as I'm aware (asides the rshift and the 1.5 backspace on the TF), Jack of All Trades is standard and I think the old winkeyless design they had for the 1st round will also be fine with just the base kit for this.

[chuckdee]

Edited OP to change 40℅ kit to alternate Layout kit. I just think that makes the most sense

Sent from my HTC6545LVW using Tapatalk

Very nice  not as many keys a I thought it would be.

[Jmeferlater]

Edited OP to change 40℅ kit to alternate Layout kit. I just think that makes the most sense

Sent from my HTC6545LVW using Tapatalk

Very nice  not as many keys a I thought it would be.

Am I missing any commonly included keys? There are a lot of layouts I'm unfamiliar with so I wouldn't be surprised if I missed something

Sent from my HTC6545LVW using Tapatalk

[murkey]

Definitely interested, would love to see it in DCS profile as well

[jennb]

Love the DSA profile & the colors! The GID legends are brilliant. Following this thread.

[chuckdee]

Edited OP to change 40℅ kit to alternate Layout kit. I just think that makes the most sense

Sent from my HTC6545LVW using Tapatalk

Very nice  not as many keys a I thought it would be.

Am I missing any commonly included keys? There are a lot of layouts I'm unfamiliar with so I wouldn't be surprised if I missed something

Sent from my HTC6545LVW using Tapatalk

Layouts for MiniVan and JD45:

MiniVan: http://www.keyboard-layout-editor.com/#/gists/354cb29c8ffa1153587bed816ce022b6

JD45: http://i.imgur.com/K3liYAT.png

[Jmeferlater]

Still waiting on an email back from SP.
Should have an update soon, hopefully

[Brammm87]

Oh man, this looks really nice. It's a life goal to see the northern lights at some point. Might as well start here.

[Calmfixup]

This looks absolutely stunning...guess I'll have to get a TKL now

[Arhipio]

This looks absolutely stunning...guess I'll have to get a TKL now

Glad you like it, I'm personally building a new 60% for this board. S60-X with the RGB ring around it will look stunning imo.

[Chronumn]

I made an account on here just to say I really want this set!

[Jmeferlater]

Small update: Heard back from SP, child kits look good, even with the extra keys in the base kit. One small concern is still the light legends on the bottom row, I don't see it as a big deal, but let me know your issues with it. Emails with SP are going fairly slowly right now because they are really busy, but I should hopefully have a more fruitful update at some point.

[Vigrith]

The legends for the bottom row don't bother me at all personally, I like it as is and I actually think they are very readable as per the renders.

[Arhipio]

Bottom legends look good to me.

Sent from my Nexus 5X using Tapatalk

[Fibonacci_Jones]

Agreed that the bottom looks fine per the renders. The other preview seems hard to read but I'm guessing those are a little less color accurate than the render themselves.

[Jmeferlater]

Agreed that the bottom looks fine per the renders. The other preview seems hard to read but I'm guessing those are a little less color accurate than the render themselves.

Yeah, the child kit renders are a bit harder to read because I put them on a white background, should've done something darker like the other renders

[spiritanimals]

Between the astronomy theme and awesome color scheme, I can't pass this up. Great job.

[KlarKuo]

These are some sick colors. Love how it looks in renders. Wonder how it'll look in real life