[IC] Sparta - Community feedback required

[crusader_alex]

Sparta

As you may or may not know GMK Sparta is a set that was run last month and was regretably cancelled after not being able to hit MOQ.
I know it is probalby too soon but i am making this post to discuss with you the future of Sparta as a project.

Where do we go from here?

Good news is that i plan to rerun the set,however all the details need to be ironed out first.

First things first i need to settle on the profile of the set.Due to the price and high MOQ's of GMK the set is unlikely to return in GMK form unless there is significantly more interest than last time.
Now there are alternatives to GMK and i feel using one of those manufacturers would be the most sensible option.

That said It would be great if you responded to this poll or this post so i can see what you would like in terms of material,manufacturer,profile and kits.Thank you in advance!!!

Poll: https://forms.gle/3SVXgC79R33daboF9

Old IC: https://geekhack.org/index.php?topic=101678.0

[Fredington]

Your form is only accepting a number response for the open ended prompt. I'll just leave my feedback here.

You could also consider InfiniKey since they can do reverse dye sub as well. I would also suggest including dual legend Greek in the base kit, having separate Latin-only alphas, and abandoning the mono Greek keys.

Also might want to post the old kits here for reference in filling out your form.

Finally, I think the GB was ended too early. It may not have gotten the early numbers you were hoping for, but I think it would have made it to MOQ.

[sent-by-an-iPerson]

I was on this GB and I honestly don’t know why it failed. It’s a really classy looking set. But I’d be up for it being re-released as GMK or KAT.

I also think the GB was ended too early.

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[crusader_alex]

Your form is only accepting a number response for the open ended prompt. I'll just leave my feedback here.

You could also consider InfiniKey since they can do reverse dye sub as well. I would also suggest including dual legend Greek in the base kit, having separate Latin-only alphas, and abandoning the mono Greek keys.

Also might want to post the old kits here for reference in filling out your form.

Finally, I think the GB was ended too early. It may not have gotten the early numbers you were hoping for, but I think it would have made it to MOQ.

Sorry,should be fixed now.Also I'll drop a link to the old IC so people can see the old kits like you mentioned.

[Steezus]

I'm glad to see this make a comeback. I thought for sure that this set would have been able to meet MOQ the first time around. I'm hoping that the set will re-released as GMK again.

[Gondolindrim]

Really sad this didn't meed MOQ. I was gonna pick it up.

If it comes as KAT or a tall profile like SA it's instabuy for me.

εδώ είναι Σπάρτη!

[DetectiveNio]

I was so hyped for this and the deskmat. I thought it'd go really well marble desk/countertop. I'm down with infinikey

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[Robosculpts]

Totally in for ergo or ortho if they get added. I voted for GMK but really, it doesn't matter to me. This set is beautiful.

[Solotov]

Really love to see the red color on the alphas instead of gold.

[renolo]

Rename it GMK Leonidas, People might be more attached to a single historical figure than a civilization

[cldskt]

Hoping to see this re-run in GMK

[cyyz]

I think the kits are great as is. No need to make Latin alphas a separate kit. The colours are great as is. Only reason i think this set was slow was due to holidays/timing with other bigger sets. And i still think this would have made MOQ near the end.

I would vote to keep it in GMK and use the same kits, however, if you really want to change the profile, i can suggest SA profile.

[Shaphyna]

Would love to see this on KAT profile! I really loved the deskmat too

[Ac1221]

rerun in gmk


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[kaisn]

Rerun in GMK I'm sure it will reach MOQ

[ivu]

Keep latin alphas in base kit. Greek as separate.
For legends it would be nice to try a couple of renders with the red color instead of gold in order for community to compare and decide. I think red might be better for contrast tbh.

You might want to consider additional alpha kit with red/gold like the mods. Would sell like hot bread.

Is it possible to achieve the same quality of colors in other profiles/materials ?

[deathwalker113]

This set is gorgeous ... so GMK FTW !

[Ensaum]

Keep it GMK pls... Just wait for better timing. So many sets running right now. Only major change I would suggest is to slim down the greek kit to sublegends only and get rid of the mono alphas. It's too expensive with both. I'm curious to see what red alpha legends would look like as well, but I'm concerned that the gold would be underrepresented then. You may also look into separating the numpad to bring down the base set cost. I'm pretty sure the majority of people in this hobby use tkl or smaller. 1800 support could probably move to the numpad set too if you end up separating it.

[sent-by-an-iPerson]

If you're going to have an alt set of red alphas (which I think would look awesome, like a Spatan Cloak), it would be cool to have more contrasting modifiers or alts in gold.

[ever9415]

Better change the text color of the Alphas Key before GB starts again.
I don't like the current Alphas Key text color.

[click clack jack]

Please run again, me and MANY of my discord friends were gunna join we just hadnt yet!

Also, my one recommendation is to make Greek in the default, it fits the theme perfect and people dont wanna buy 2 kits

[adxlk]

Make the alphas in this style: https://geekhack.org/index.php?topic=102935.0

And..can I suggest R5 bottom row?

[SUB01]

tbh I thought this was one of the better looking sets of this year. I think the only problem with the set is that it ran to close with too many hyped/anticpated sets of all time like olivia.

[senryo]

tbh I thought this was one of the better looking sets of this year. I think the only problem with the set is that it ran to close with too many hyped/anticpated sets of all time like olivia.

exactly, and the payday too. It was shut down just way too early.

I hope the rerun will still be GMK, the quality and the profile are just the perfect match for the set.

[Butterbeer]

I would personally like to see the set redone to mimic ASHES and losing the accent keys. Ashes covers a lot of boards and the kits are simple yet satisfying. Red/Gold and White/Gold would be interesting.

A couple of observations/suggestions:

1. Get a DISCORD channel

• Helps with Feedback
• Helps with Updates
• Helps with Marketing/Hype
• Helps the Community Grow

2. Stick to a Group Buy date well in advance and do not change it

• Shows commitment
• People will buy and save according to a set purchase window
• Plan with vendors so that it's not sandwiched between big ass sets

[nasp]

+1 for changing the alphas to the red instead of the gold that they are now. I'd like to see the contrast improved.

[RobK_aka]

I would have purchased on the original GB but it closed before I could even purchase. I'm in on this set no matter the profile. I'd prefer GMK but KAT would be good too.

[terrad]

Please keep the colors as they are. One of the best looking sets in a long time IMO.

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[infinitykw]

So I observe this early cancellation as a way of getting more attention, and the set deserves GMK.

[Solotov]

At least if we could get a render of red alpha so that people could compare it with the current gold and see which option they like more 

[ctrlshiftba]

As a consumer there is no reason to join a GB early. With 10 GMK sets per month deciding on which to buy is taking more and more consideration. Considering most vendor don’t allow cancelling I think more and more people will wait til the last minute.

This set is amazing and deserves GMK. Find a way to incentivize joining a GB early. Try to schedule it on an off month if it’s even possible. Also a 6 week GB period like Ursa could help.

Also what is it about the key company? I find them to be just as good as other top tier vendors but their key set GB numbers always come in surprising low???

[Fredington]

So I observe this early cancellation as a way of getting more attention, and the set deserves GMK.

Agree with this.

[yuuS0cut3]

tbh I thought this was one of the better looking sets of this year. I think the only problem with the set is that it ran to close with too many hyped/anticpated sets of all time like olivia.

100% agree. Should GB on a time that isn't the same as some really hyped keyset, such as Olivia, Metaverse, Obvilion,...

[kokugatsu]

GMK for sure, only qualm I have is with the Rama design.

Honestly I felt the cancellation in the middle of the month was premature, I was sure a lot more people would have joined once they got their paychecks, myself included.

[SlurmsMacKenzie]

GMK for sure, only qualm I have is with the Rama design.

Honestly I felt the cancellation in the middle of the month was premature, I was sure a lot more people would have joined once they got their paychecks, myself included.

This is how I feel as well, though they must have been pretty sure it wasn't going to make it, I would have been curious to see what would have happened if they left it open for the full GB period.  But yeah, I think the set is great the way it is, I was going to buy it as well.  I really like the gold on white alphas personally.

[SuddenlyDonkey]

Legionnaire kit with red alphas and gold lettering   

[sent-by-an-iPerson]

Legionnaire kit with red alphas and gold lettering   

As an alt set of alphas, definitely.


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[euphxenos]

I was in when it ran, and I'll be in when you're ready to try again.  This was bad timing more than anything else -- lots of sets were running, some of them very popular sets, it was right before the holidays, *and* over Black Friday.  Wait six months and give it another try.

[hyperdolch]

Rerun please!!

[shansoft]

Keep it as what it is. The GB time is a bit off with other sets, and it closed way too early IMO.

[cldskt]

Actually interested to see what would the alpha set look like with maroon legends and beige base, as well as gold legends and maroon base.

[Tyson]

Keep it as what it is. The GB time is a bit off with other sets, and it closed way too early IMO.

I'm of the same mindset, I really liked the way the set looked, would love to buy it again at the right time.

[JDwrx]

I'm definitely interested, even though I don't have a keyboard for it yet.  Hopefully I find a GB for that, as well.  I can't fill out the form due to a cert error.

[Hackerpilot]

If this runs again, I'll probably join it again. I'm interested in split spacebars, Greek sublegends, and any possibility of Ergodox/Boardwalk support.

[ivu]

Here is my feedback so far:

- Keep it GMK as it will look the best. Not sure how the colors would look like in PBT. Will do Moq for sure either way.
- Add a secondary alphas kit with red base and gold legends. Will be an instant buy for many ppl.
- Red legends might be a better choice for base alphas. Much better contrast.
- Request which might be only by me...1.5u R4 FN key. Not as important ofc

Enjoy your holidays!

[alternisciel]

Love the regal look of this set, I think GMK and epbt does look the best, dont really dig the legends of KAT unless its similar to Milkshake's alphas. Saving money for this, will definitely pick this up as my first keycap set for my first ever build! All the best!

[midnatwili]

I love this set; the color combination, novelties, and greek letters look amazing. I was surprised this didn't hit MOQ. Will not hesitate buying a full set again when this launches in the future. 

[crusader_alex]

Hello everyone!

First things first,I want to wish you all a merry Christmas.This has been a great year even though we had some setbacks.
Since it's the holidays i would like to post a short update to not take much of your time.

To address a couple of things based on the current feedback:

• New kits will only be added if the set is not GMK unfortunately as right now it's impossible to hit MOQ
• The Greek Kit will probably be worked on to decrease the price,even though it's not ideal it's most likely getting slimmed down to just the mixed greek keys
• Some changes will most likely be made to the base like adding the second B for Alice users
• Regarding the maroon with gold alternate base keys I didn't include them in the first run mainly because of cost and secondly because I thought it would be too similar to Red Sam however if you'd like to see that I wouldn't be against adding it
• Finally I made a render using maroon legends instead of gold but it strays too much from my idea of the set so I don't think anything will be done with it

Thank you for bearing with me on this update and happy rest of the holidays!!!

[gordonderp]

Yeah not really feeling it without the gold. Have you considered going with JTK?

[DanBe]

Yeah not really feeling it without the gold. Have you considered going with JTK?

Agreed, it's not very Spartan without the gold imo