IntroductionSo I'm very new to this hobby, but the more I learn about it, the more I want to get involved creatively. While my day job is that of a software engineer, I used to work in the video game industry. I've since had some experience in doing graphic design for playing board games online or via forums. Most of my work has had to do with making new maps and rules variants for
Diplomacy, for which I have a real passion. Here is an example map from
Dissolution, an original variant of my own creation.
ArchdukeSo I have the start of an idea for a series of seven keycap sets based on the seven powers of a traditional
Diplomacy game. The first design I've started thinking through is
Archduke, a set based on the flag and emblems of the
Dual Monarchy of Austria-Hungary.
GoalsMy goals for the set are as follows:
- Design the caps for the DSS profile.
- Support four locales:
- QWERTY for English (US / ANSI)
- QWERTY for English (UK / ISO)
- QWERTZ for German (ISO)
- QWERTZ for Hungarian (ISO)
- Support a variety of different modifier sizes
- Support standard layouts (and blank keys) for Ergodoxian & Ortho boards.
Locale / Theme QuestionsI don't know what the best practices are when it comes to keyboards for other locales (goals 2.2 through 2.4). Many have keys with three or four symbols on them, accessed via Alt Grafik (Alt Greater). Do European keyboard users tend to prefer all those symbols to be on the keycaps, or are they usually okay with just the characters that can be output without using Alt Gr?
I know there are German-speaking mechanical keyboard users. Are there many Hungarian typists in the hobby too? I want to make the eventual Group Buy easily accessible to QWERTZ users, but would they even have interest in this theme?
Is the Austro-Hungarian empire a sore subject politically? It's fascinating for me as a subject of history, but I do wonder if it's the sort of thing that modern-day Austrians, Hungarians, and other Europeans would frown upon.
Modifiers and RowsIs there a good list somewhere of all the differently sized modifier keys that people generally expect to come with a TKL ANSI or ISO set? Outside those already shown in Keyboard Layout Editor, that is.
And what about a list of standard expectations for Ergodox and Ortho? I use an Ergodox, so I know what
I would want, but it'd be helpful to know what the most common legends are that people expect on their modifier keys.
Also, what row profiles do Ergodox users use for the thumb clusters? I've had a lot of luck using an inverted vertical R3/4 2u key as my spacebar (an upside-down Numpad Enter), but what rows do others use for their 2u and 1u keys in non-uniform setups?
Visual Design / ColorwayAt the moment, the design is very rough and uses a very simple color scheme. The goal is to make a whole keyboard resemble the three horizontal bars of the Austro-Hungarian flag, but I'm having trouble deciding what actually looks best (and is still practical).
- One lower row colored, green starts to the right of the spacebar:
- One lower row colored, green only for arrow keys and numpad:
- One lower row colored, no green:
- Two lower rows colored (shown with green to right of spacebar, could be one of the others above)
Novelty KeysI have ideas for about 4 different novelty keys. One will be the Austrian imperial double-eagle.
A
very early version of another, the Hungarian double cross, is shown below
(and is in draft #1 but got mangled by KLE's PNG export):
I'm still debating whether I want the cross on its own or as part of a more squarish design resembling the Hungarian seal (as seen in the flag at the top).
Kit DesignRelated to the modifiers question above, what's a reasonable number of kits to establish for an IC / GB, particularly for a first timer? And what's a reasonable percentage of "extra" keys that each key can contain (to keep locale/layout support wide without creating kits that fail to reach MOQ)?
Group Buy & Interest Check AdministrationI've found a couple of guides to running a GB and an IC, but what's usually the standard procedure for a first-time designer? Are there some more experienced people I could partner with to learn the ropes? Most of the ICs I see are either (1) quick-and-dirty colorways of GMK sets using the freely available auto-render tools or (2) extremely professional looking posts by designers who've clearly done this a dozen times.
Do designers usually pick all their vendors before they start the IC, or do they do so in the middle of it?