Author Topic: [IC] DSA Discovery (original IC)  (Read 33663 times)

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Offline japanitrat

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[IC] DSA Discovery (original IC)
« on: Thu, 06 October 2016, 18:53:31 »
Hey guys,

I just wanted to quickly share what I did a few months ago but never got around to finish. It's missing a lot of things such as uniformly themed novelty keys, different kits, and so on. But I think the idea is cool and I should just share it for getting feedback and continue working on it maybe.

DSA Discovery is meant to be a dye sublimated DSA keyset, reminiscent of the white/grey/black/red exterior and interior designs of well known space crafts such as NASA space shuttles. In particular, I wanted it to feature Eurostile for the legends since it's a very distinct font used in many great science fiction movies. And I wanted it to be somewhat novel in terms of the general design, not just the colors.

Originally, it was supposed to be dark grey set with light legends. Unfortunately, just making the font molds for the legends is so expensive that this is not an option (as most of you may know, there is already a project for that, led by CQ_Cumbers, which didn't make any progress for quite a while now). So I focused on dye sublimation on bright base colors which led to quite a few new ideas. I experimented with subtle patterns, different shades of grey on the same key and adding different shapes uniformly to all keys, among other things. Here comes the base idea:

Light variant



Dark variant



As you can see, the distinct feature is the dark grey stripe at the bottom edge of each key. The mods have thicker ones with inverted legends to spice it up a little and to provide room for providing additional graphics in the main area of the key. It started out without the inverted legends but it looked very much like Granite, despite the different font, imho. Just for reference, here is a picture (not a favoring it, tbh):

More


3D renders

Just to see how this would roughly look. I don't have models for the modifiers so here is just a 1U ESC example:





Kerning is a bit off. Would fix that in the final stages.

Is that kind of print even possible?

Still unclear on that. I contacted SP and they replied that an edge-to-edge print is certainly possible. However, the tolerance space is 0.020 inches. As the design emphasizes the edges (and the inverted mods are even closer to them), it might be the case that even smallest deviations would kill the look (my assumption). I will try to get a sample and decide from there on.

Mod extensions

With the light and dark variant I was quite happy so I was starting to look into making this set more unique. I tried different things for the mods, like providing a sutble background pattern (doable using dye sub as far as I know), or adding additional horizontal bars:





Novelty ideas

The extended mod designs were okay-ish but what I actually wanted was novelty keys that really distinguish the set from others. So I started to play with just very simple but bold geometric shapes for the mods:



Or these ones, inspired by the movie "Moon":



Or these ones which are much finer and colorful (kind of reminds me of WipeOut):



What do you think?

This is all I have sitting around for months now. As I said, I feel that I struggle badly with the novelties and other things turned up in life so I had to put this on ice. Anyhow, I needed to get this off my chest and see if there is any interest in me pursuing this any further. All feedback is welcome. Ideas for novelties -- please shoot :)

Thanks for checking it out!

Updates
October 10: Added a couple of 3D renders for 1U key and added info from SP
October 7: Typos
« Last Edit: Sun, 11 June 2023, 17:10:09 by japanitrat »

Offline jchan94

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Re: [IC] DSA Discovery (working title)
« Reply #1 on: Thu, 06 October 2016, 19:12:57 »
Mods look cool, but I don't know how I'd like it on my keyboard personally.

Can definitely see this being made + a lot of great boards with silver alu cases :).

Definitely getting a space transporter type of vibe from it.

edit:

Would love a planetary set or lunar set or something along those lines.
« Last Edit: Thu, 06 October 2016, 19:20:09 by jchan94 »
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Offline xondat

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Re: [IC] DSA Discovery (working title)
« Reply #2 on: Thu, 06 October 2016, 19:16:28 »
...I actually really like it - but let me ramble a bit! Personally I prefer dark mods and lighter alphas, and also prefer the color variants to reflect on the F row. Light variant looks so much better than the dark variant. I like the first set of novelties and those only, although I don't think they should define a set as not everyone will get them (unless you do it all as one keyset, and not separate them). I think the two 2u keys on the numpad should have the thicker lines like the mods. The red line on the enter is nice, but would like to see a normal version too. I don't think the cyan fits the theme too well, but happy to see where you take it. The 2nd mod options look better.

Offline Vigrith

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Re: [IC] DSA Discovery (working title)
« Reply #3 on: Thu, 06 October 2016, 20:48:40 »
I love it, that particular font is a favourite of mine and I'd 100% buy this for that sole reason.

...I actually really like it - but let me ramble a bit! Personally I prefer dark mods and lighter alphas, and also prefer the color variants to reflect on the F row. Light variant looks so much better than the dark variant. I like the first set of novelties and those only, although I don't think they should define a set as not everyone will get them (unless you do it all as one keyset, and not separate them). I think the two 2u keys on the numpad should have the thicker lines like the mods. The red line on the enter is nice, but would like to see a normal version too. I don't think the cyan fits the theme too well, but happy to see where you take it. The 2nd mod options look better.

I agree with all of this, pretty much - darker mods lighter alphas would look best imo, the first set of novelties is AWESOME the others I care very little for but I'm open to something new as I'm usually a sucker for quirky icons. I like the red on the enter, but a normal version would also be great so that people can choose what they'd want.

Second mods definitely look better. I don't mind the cyan accents but I feel I'd personally be using the standard keys most the time with this set - gives it a stealthy/vintage nerdy look without being overly futuristic/flashy. I'd definitely be open to other colours for accents though, I can't really think of what would look best but could you potentially just make them black? I think that'd be pretty cool. Red would also fit pretty good considering the red enter, I'd say.

Offline KHAANNN

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Re: [IC] DSA Discovery (working title)
« Reply #4 on: Thu, 06 October 2016, 21:04:01 »
Can they dye-sub the edges of the keycaps in a pleasing manner tho, I think the dye-sub process is the bottleneck for this IC*
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Offline japanitrat

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Re: [IC] DSA Discovery (working title)
« Reply #5 on: Fri, 07 October 2016, 14:55:12 »
Mods look cool, but I don't know how I'd like it on my keyboard personally.

Can definitely see this being made + a lot of great boards with silver alu cases :).

Definitely getting a space transporter type of vibe from it.

edit:

Would love a planetary set or lunar set or something along those lines.

Thanks for the feedback, jchan!

As for the set suggestions: do you have anything more specific in mind? Different alphas, mods, just colors, novelties? You're thinking moving the whole theme towards planets, or other astronomic entities (asteroids? moons? systems? galaxies? clusters? SUPERCLUSTERS? :D)

Offline japanitrat

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Re: [IC] DSA Discovery (working title)
« Reply #6 on: Fri, 07 October 2016, 15:03:37 »
...I actually really like it - but let me ramble a bit! Personally I prefer dark mods and lighter alphas, and also prefer the color variants to reflect on the F row. Light variant looks so much better than the dark variant. I like the first set of novelties and those only, although I don't think they should define a set as not everyone will get them (unless you do it all as one keyset, and not separate them). I think the two 2u keys on the numpad should have the thicker lines like the mods. The red line on the enter is nice, but would like to see a normal version too. I don't think the cyan fits the theme too well, but happy to see where you take it. The 2nd mod options look better.

Haha, glad you ramble. Any kind of feedback is good. By first set of novelties you mean the more subtle ones, right? I will update the renders to contain the base set only, without the red enter, I suppose.

The numpad, yeah, problem is that the legend for "return" needs two rows. Can't do inverted legend here as the much thicker bar looks more odd than the current version. However, I could make the bar as thick as the other mods but add the legend on top .. gonna test it tonight.

Regarding the cyan: the idea is taken from the color of warp drives from Start Trek. Or exhaust tubes in sci-fi space ships in general (most are white/blue-ish I think). Going to look for some more inspiration, though.

Thanks!

Offline japanitrat

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Re: [IC] DSA Discovery (working title)
« Reply #7 on: Fri, 07 October 2016, 15:11:40 »
I love it, that particular font is a favourite of mine and I'd 100% buy this for that sole reason.

...I actually really like it - but let me ramble a bit! Personally I prefer dark mods and lighter alphas, and also prefer the color variants to reflect on the F row. Light variant looks so much better than the dark variant. I like the first set of novelties and those only, although I don't think they should define a set as not everyone will get them (unless you do it all as one keyset, and not separate them). I think the two 2u keys on the numpad should have the thicker lines like the mods. The red line on the enter is nice, but would like to see a normal version too. I don't think the cyan fits the theme too well, but happy to see where you take it. The 2nd mod options look better.

I agree with all of this, pretty much - darker mods lighter alphas would look best imo, the first set of novelties is AWESOME the others I care very little for but I'm open to something new as I'm usually a sucker for quirky icons. I like the red on the enter, but a normal version would also be great so that people can choose what they'd want.

Second mods definitely look better. I don't mind the cyan accents but I feel I'd personally be using the standard keys most the time with this set - gives it a stealthy/vintage nerdy look without being overly futuristic/flashy. I'd definitely be open to other colours for accents though, I can't really think of what would look best but could you potentially just make them black? I think that'd be pretty cool. Red would also fit pretty good considering the red enter, I'd say.

Thanks for the feedback! Yeah, man, the font is awesome and we need sets using it! :)
For a version with darker mods than alphas, would you like higher contrast than what is shown in the "hidden" version below the two base versions? (click the "more" button)

As for the mods/novelties, yeah, will update the base versions to not contain the red enter. By first set of novelties, do you mean the actual noveltiy keys (with the very in-your-face icons)? Regarding the black keys: so a really dark key with even darker legends? Or just a darker grey? Or even the regular bright grey but with a much darker bottom bar?
« Last Edit: Fri, 07 October 2016, 15:35:53 by japanitrat »

Offline japanitrat

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Re: [IC] DSA Discovery (working title)
« Reply #8 on: Fri, 07 October 2016, 15:14:09 »
Can they dye-sub the edges of the keycaps in a pleasing manner tho, I think the dye-sub process is the bottleneck for this IC*

That's the big question indeed. I think they can easily print to the edges. But I think for this set it would be critical that the grey bottom bars line up. There is not a lot of room for tolerance. Guess, I have to ask SP just to make sure.

Edit: Shot them a mail, let's see ..
« Last Edit: Fri, 07 October 2016, 16:35:08 by japanitrat »

Offline Vigrith

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Re: [IC] DSA Discovery (working title)
« Reply #9 on: Fri, 07 October 2016, 15:42:09 »
As for the mods/novelties, yeah, will update the base versions to not contain the red enter. By first set of novelties, do you mean the actual noveltiy keys (with the very in-your-face icons)? Regarding the black keys: so a really dark key with even darker legends? Or just a darker grey? Or even the regular bright grey but with a much darker bottom bar?

These are my favourite novelties, I believe these are the ones Xondat was referring to also.



Regarding the black keys yea, might be hard to make those work seeing as the legends are already pretty dark - when I said that I was thinking of like matte black with lighter legends but then I realized the that'd be pretty hard to make work.

Regardless, what you already have is awesome with those novelties I linked so looking forward to developments!

Offline Data

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Re: [IC] DSA Discovery (working title)
« Reply #10 on: Sat, 08 October 2016, 19:50:58 »
Pretty sure that white background is a no-go for dye sub, unless something's changed in the last few months. The red and blue should be OK though given the right base plastic color.

Really digging the design.

Offline japanitrat

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Re: [IC] DSA Discovery (working title)
« Reply #11 on: Sun, 09 October 2016, 05:19:39 »
Pretty sure that white background is a no-go for dye sub, unless something's changed in the last few months. The red and blue should be OK though given the right base plastic color.

Really digging the design.

Mhh, what white background are you referring to? The base color on the mods is WAN. The bblue accents would be BFV most likely. For the alphas I didnt decide yet.
There is no white print, only grey and red.

Offline japanitrat

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Re: [IC] DSA Discovery (working title)
« Reply #12 on: Sun, 09 October 2016, 05:23:43 »
As for the mods/novelties, yeah, will update the base versions to not contain the red enter. By first set of novelties, do you mean the actual noveltiy keys (with the very in-your-face icons)? Regarding the black keys: so a really dark key with even darker legends? Or just a darker grey? Or even the regular bright grey but with a much darker bottom bar?

These are my favourite novelties, I believe these are the ones Xondat was referring to also.

Show Image


Regarding the black keys yea, might be hard to make those work seeing as the legends are already pretty dark - when I said that I was thinking of like matte black with lighter legends but then I realized the that'd be pretty hard to make work.

Regardless, what you already have is awesome with those novelties I linked so looking forward to developments!

Gotya ;) will iterate on those. More updates soon™

Offline Data

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Re: [IC] DSA Discovery (working title)
« Reply #13 on: Sun, 09 October 2016, 19:08:47 »
Pretty sure that white background is a no-go for dye sub, unless something's changed in the last few months. The red and blue should be OK though given the right base plastic color.

Really digging the design.

Mhh, what white background are you referring to? The base color on the mods is WAN. The bblue accents would be BFV most likely. For the alphas I didnt decide yet.
There is no white print, only grey and red.

I may have grossly misunderstood your renders then, I apologize.

I was referring mainly to this image:


It looks like you've got some diagonal stripes going on the mods along with the inverted legend colors.  But if you're saying the lighter color of the stripes is the base plastic, then I've got them flipped in my head.  It's sort of an optical illusion.  The slightly darker grey should work as a dye sublimated color in that case, at least in theory.

Offline japanitrat

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Re: [IC] DSA Discovery (working title)
« Reply #14 on: Mon, 10 October 2016, 02:22:12 »
Oh. Man. You're right. It looks like it's a white print. My apologies. It is indeed just the "lit" top of the plastic. Even worse, the faint stripes are brighter than the sides.

Will try a 3d render to make this more clear. I already have DSA as a model somewhere, just need to take some time to get into blender again .. at least for a single key to see what the edge-to-edge print looks like in 3d

Offline japanitrat

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Re: [IC] DSA Discovery (working title)
« Reply #15 on: Mon, 10 October 2016, 19:04:18 »
I actually managed to produce a 3D render that illustrates a regular 1U key. Did not find suitable models for the mods, unfortunately :/





I am also in contact with SP and confirmed that they would be able to do such a print. However, the tolerance is about 0.020 inches which might not be good enough for the mods in the base variant (as the inverted legends are very close to the edge). I am going to check if a test sample can be produced.

P.S.: Yes, the kerning is off. Would fix that in the later stages :>
« Last Edit: Mon, 10 October 2016, 19:10:53 by japanitrat »

Offline fax668

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Re: [IC] DSA Discovery (working title)
« Reply #16 on: Tue, 11 October 2016, 02:17:30 »
Very nice. Could make the ESC key maybe in the same red as the Enter key?

Offline Data

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Re: [IC] DSA Discovery (working title)
« Reply #17 on: Tue, 11 October 2016, 08:40:13 »
I actually managed to produce a 3D render that illustrates a regular 1U key. Did not find suitable models for the mods, unfortunately :/

Show Image


Show Image


I am also in contact with SP and confirmed that they would be able to do such a print. However, the tolerance is about 0.020 inches which might not be good enough for the mods in the base variant (as the inverted legends are very close to the edge). I am going to check if a test sample can be produced.

P.S.: Yes, the kerning is off. Would fix that in the later stages :>

Looks nice.  SP did some very fine detail subs for the LCARS set that brought the dye out very near to the edge of the cap.  It took them a few tries to get it right but they refined their process over the course of producing the set and I'm sure they could do it again.  Just make sure you get QC photos before you accept shipping on anything.

Offline japanitrat

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Re: [IC] DSA Discovery (working title)
« Reply #18 on: Tue, 11 October 2016, 14:26:41 »
I actually managed to produce a 3D render that illustrates a regular 1U key. Did not find suitable models for the mods, unfortunately :/

Show Image


Show Image


I am also in contact with SP and confirmed that they would be able to do such a print. However, the tolerance is about 0.020 inches which might not be good enough for the mods in the base variant (as the inverted legends are very close to the edge). I am going to check if a test sample can be produced.

P.S.: Yes, the kerning is off. Would fix that in the later stages :>

Looks nice.  SP did some very fine detail subs for the LCARS set that brought the dye out very near to the edge of the cap.  It took them a few tries to get it right but they refined their process over the course of producing the set and I'm sure they could do it again.  Just make sure you get QC photos before you accept shipping on anything.

Wow, skimming through the IC and GB thread gave a pretty good (and reassuring) picture. If I understand this correctly, SP actually does the printing, contrary what's stated on keypuller.com, right?

Offline japanitrat

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Re: [IC] DSA Discovery (working title)
« Reply #19 on: Tue, 11 October 2016, 14:27:40 »
Very nice. Could make the ESC key maybe in the same red as the Enter key?

Yeah, maybe. Would like to nail the style of the mods/novelties first, though. Still haven't got time to do more stuff in that direction, unfortunately.

Offline Data

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Re: [IC] DSA Discovery (working title)
« Reply #20 on: Wed, 12 October 2016, 11:40:44 »
I actually managed to produce a 3D render that illustrates a regular 1U key. Did not find suitable models for the mods, unfortunately :/

Show Image


Show Image


I am also in contact with SP and confirmed that they would be able to do such a print. However, the tolerance is about 0.020 inches which might not be good enough for the mods in the base variant (as the inverted legends are very close to the edge). I am going to check if a test sample can be produced.

P.S.: Yes, the kerning is off. Would fix that in the later stages :>

Looks nice.  SP did some very fine detail subs for the LCARS set that brought the dye out very near to the edge of the cap.  It took them a few tries to get it right but they refined their process over the course of producing the set and I'm sure they could do it again.  Just make sure you get QC photos before you accept shipping on anything.

Wow, skimming through the IC and GB thread gave a pretty good (and reassuring) picture. If I understand this correctly, SP actually does the printing, contrary what's stated on keypuller.com, right?

You know, I'm not sure if we ever confirmed that one way or the other.  Good question.

Offline jrmobley

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Re: [IC] DSA Discovery (working title)
« Reply #21 on: Sun, 22 January 2017, 03:41:07 »
Oh man, I really like what you were doing here!

The light alphas with darker mods, the Eurostile, the inverted legends on the modifiers... very nice.  Novelty keys in general don't do a thing for me.  And personally I don't think your design needs any of those variations you were struggling with either.  Just your original light variant is the best!

This has a lot of similarities to one of the first layouts I was playing with when I first discovered the MK scene, before I found out how hard it was to get keycaps, haha.

158235-0

My design was inspired by the TRS-80 Color Computer, which features the same font and similar colors.

158237-1

The only things I would suggest for your design would be to make the legends a little darker and the mods a little whiter, and to consider some colored accents on more of the modifiers, like you did for the return key.

But again, I really like what you have already!

-JR

Offline japanitrat

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Re: [IC] DSA Discovery (working title)
« Reply #22 on: Mon, 23 January 2017, 17:12:27 »
Oh man, I really like what you were doing here!

The light alphas with darker mods, the Eurostile, the inverted legends on the modifiers... very nice.  Novelty keys in general don't do a thing for me.  And personally I don't think your design needs any of those variations you were struggling with either.  Just your original light variant is the best!

This has a lot of similarities to one of the first layouts I was playing with when I first discovered the MK scene, before I found out how hard it was to get keycaps, haha.

(Attachment Link)

My design was inspired by the TRS-80 Color Computer, which features the same font and similar colors.

(Attachment Link)

The only things I would suggest for your design would be to make the legends a little darker and the mods a little whiter, and to consider some colored accents on more of the modifiers, like you did for the return key.

But again, I really like what you have already!

-JR

That's an interesting bottom row, my friend! And thanks for the feedback!
I really appreciate that there is some love for lighter-mods-than-alphas :) most people tend to prefer the other way around.
I suppose you meant to make the legends on the alphas a bit darker but the base color of the mods light?

Offline Kominyetska

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Re: [IC] DSA Discovery (working title)
« Reply #23 on: Mon, 23 January 2017, 17:14:38 »
If it's DSA, I'll likely buy it. I dig the look.

Offline jrmobley

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Re: [IC] DSA Discovery (working title)
« Reply #24 on: Mon, 23 January 2017, 18:42:17 »

I suppose you meant to make the legends on the alphas a bit darker but the base color of the mods light?

Exactly!  Just a touch more contrast for readability.


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Offline breckstar

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Re: [IC] DSA Discovery (working title)
« Reply #25 on: Mon, 23 January 2017, 19:39:07 »
This look awesome. Needs some orange mods ;)

Offline japanitrat

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Re: [IC] DSA Discovery (working title)
« Reply #26 on: Wed, 25 January 2017, 15:00:34 »
Last thing I did was to create all relevant DSA models in Blender and their UV maps. Next step was to create a full set and map their textures to the output of the Illustrator file I have. Never got to it but will try to make some free time in the coming days!
« Last Edit: Thu, 26 January 2017, 07:06:47 by japanitrat »

Offline iFreilicht

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Re: [IC] DSA Discovery (working title)
« Reply #27 on: Thu, 26 January 2017, 05:41:55 »
This look awesome. Needs some orange mods ;)

Oh god yes, orange mods with bright white alphas would look amazing!
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Offline japanitrat

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Re: [IC] DSA Discovery (working title)
« Reply #28 on: Mon, 30 January 2017, 19:14:01 »
Small update -- I finished mapping base alphas and base mods onto DSA models in Blender. Accidentally made the bars less tall in the process. Will probably revert to a more "SP-friendly" height (which won't cause massive issues if the accuracy is off a bit).





Didn't add colors yet because I want all keys mapped first. Fullsize first, specialties after that.
Then hunting for novelties again, and colors!
« Last Edit: Mon, 30 January 2017, 19:36:41 by japanitrat »

Offline Kominyetska

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Re: [IC] DSA Discovery (working title)
« Reply #29 on: Tue, 31 January 2017, 12:12:05 »
I really like how clean and different this set looks. I hope it goes into production!

Offline japanitrat

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Re: [IC] DSA Discovery (working title)
« Reply #30 on: Wed, 01 February 2017, 03:18:14 »
I really like how clean and different this set looks. I hope it goes into production!

Me too! Lots of work ahead :)

Offline yuppie

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Re: [IC] DSA Discovery (working title)
« Reply #31 on: Mon, 27 February 2017, 10:29:23 »
pls
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Offline rioc

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Re: [IC] DSA Discovery (working title)
« Reply #32 on: Tue, 23 May 2017, 10:33:08 »
heya mate :)

How did I miss this until now? Would so be in on this set! Looks friggin awesome :D

Offline japanitrat

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Re: [IC] DSA Discovery (working title)
« Reply #33 on: Tue, 23 May 2017, 18:02:42 »
heya mate :)

How did I miss this until now? Would so be in on this set! Looks friggin awesome :D

Hey, man!
Haha, thanks for your support there. I actually did a lot of additional stuff for this set which isn't on the thread, yet.
Going to update it once I finish _some_ Ergodox kit. Had to stop mid-March because of increased load at my day job :/
New stuff coming soon(tm), though :>

Offline Vigrith

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Re: [IC] DSA Discovery (working title)
« Reply #34 on: Tue, 23 May 2017, 19:49:43 »
Food for thought - this might be worth running in XDA instead. Better profile, cheaper (probably), faster. Seems to be all darker legends on lighter background so dye-sub should be no problem.

Offline ricyuyc

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Re: [IC] DSA Discovery (working title)
« Reply #35 on: Tue, 23 May 2017, 22:16:05 »
Food for thought - this might be worth running in XDA instead. Better profile, cheaper (probably), faster. Seems to be all darker legends on lighter background so dye-sub should be no problem.
Same here, just received my Milestone and thats quite good for me.

Offline rioc

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Re: [IC] DSA Discovery (working title)
« Reply #36 on: Wed, 24 May 2017, 02:01:32 »
Food for thought - this might be worth running in XDA instead. Better profile, cheaper (probably), faster. Seems to be all darker legends on lighter background so dye-sub should be no problem.

better is personal preference... I prefer DSA over XDA, but no matter which one of those OP decides to roll with, I'm on board :)

Offline Vigrith

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Re: [IC] DSA Discovery (working title)
« Reply #37 on: Wed, 24 May 2017, 09:19:59 »
better is personal preference... I prefer DSA over XDA, but no matter which one of those OP decides to roll with, I'm on board :)

I should've expanded on that. I mostly meant better surface area which usually tends to lead to a better typing experience overall. I do like DSA too, more than I like every other (SA, OEM, even cherry) profile but everyone I've spoken to that's been a fan of DSA for years enjoys the extra surface XDA provides. Definitely subjective though, no argument there.

Offline rioc

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Re: [IC] DSA Discovery (working title)
« Reply #38 on: Wed, 24 May 2017, 11:17:07 »
better is personal preference... I prefer DSA over XDA, but no matter which one of those OP decides to roll with, I'm on board :)

I should've expanded on that. I mostly meant better surface area which usually tends to lead to a better typing experience overall. I do like DSA too, more than I like every other (SA, OEM, even cherry) profile but everyone I've spoken to that's been a fan of DSA for years enjoys the extra surface XDA provides. Definitely subjective though, no argument there.
Can well be, gotta type on my xda set a bit more then, only tried it once and it's now just on standby.
Got canvas alpha coming done time soon which I intend to use more

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Offline japanitrat

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Re: [IC] DSA Discovery (working title)
« Reply #39 on: Wed, 24 May 2017, 14:50:23 »
I also received Milestone a week ago and I still have to adapt to it. So far I still like DSA more but that doesn't mean a lot. Need more time to get used to it.

I am going to do a test to see how the bars would look like on larger surface but even if XDA turns out to be much nicer, I am still worried about the accuracy of their sublimation process. I've seen quite a few misaligned legends on discord, their QC doesn't seem to be as good as SP's.


Offline japanitrat

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Re: [IC] DSA Discovery (working title)
« Reply #40 on: Wed, 24 May 2017, 14:52:24 »
Food for thought - this might be worth running in XDA instead. Better profile, cheaper (probably), faster. Seems to be all darker legends on lighter background so dye-sub should be no problem.

Yeah, specifically designed for dye-sub! I don't think it's even possible to do those bars with double shots

Offline Vigrith

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Re: [IC] DSA Discovery (working title)
« Reply #41 on: Wed, 24 May 2017, 15:42:05 »
Yeah, specifically designed for dye-sub! I don't think it's even possible to do those bars with double shots

Probably could but yea I figured it was designed for dye-sub, I was tired last night when I made the suggestion haha.

Regarding surface area, I actually think the bars would look really good that way - far as QC goes, I bought enough kits for a small family (enough to cover 4 boards up to 75% and then a bunch of random **** like novelties etc) and I have no caps suffering from any issues at all; their dye sub job seems as good as SP's, at least so long as there are no QC problems and all is done properly.

I'd imagine they have to up their game if there were problems with Milestone, they're taking on Canvas which was super successful on MD and I doubt they want to disappoint that many customers.

I'm in for this regardless, I love different sets, if you do go with DSA that's still perfectly fine!

Offline japanitrat

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Re: [IC] DSA Discovery (working title)
« Reply #42 on: Mon, 04 September 2017, 21:08:55 »
Update: not dead, yet :)

« Last Edit: Mon, 04 September 2017, 21:11:37 by japanitrat »

Offline lovetree

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Re: [IC] DSA Discovery (working title)
« Reply #43 on: Mon, 04 September 2017, 23:00:18 »
Update: not dead, yet :)

Show Image


Good to hear that.  :thumb:

Offline fax668

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Re: [IC] DSA Discovery (working title)
« Reply #44 on: Tue, 05 September 2017, 01:16:50 »
Not bad. I think I prefer the clinical look of the original version however.

Offline simonyunhe

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Re: [IC] DSA Discovery (working title)
« Reply #45 on: Tue, 05 September 2017, 02:21:00 »
Glad to see some progress here!  :))
KeyBs:|RS96-Brown|GS-87-White|DIYer60-Red|VA68M-Brown|GS-ALT71-Blue|IKBC-108-Black|
KeyCs:|SA Carbon R1+2|SA Camping|SA Amazing Chocolatier|SA Commando 88 Ghost|SA Hyperfuse|SA Penumbra|SA Doom|SA Creamy Orange|SA Ocean Dolch|SA Lotus*72|SA Trouble Minds R2|DSA Granite|GMK TA|GMK Soware|XDA Mailstone|GM Ember|

Offline Skull_Angel

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Re: [IC] DSA Discovery (working title)
« Reply #46 on: Tue, 05 September 2017, 13:28:00 »
Update: not dead, yet :)

Show Image


That pretty hot

Offline AuthenticDanger

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Re: [IC] DSA Discovery (working title)
« Reply #47 on: Tue, 05 September 2017, 13:54:20 »
Well I'm sold. So many excellent DSA sets being teased... my wallet can only take so much abuse!
F Keys belong on the left.

Offline japanitrat

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Re: [IC] DSA Discovery (working title)
« Reply #48 on: Tue, 24 October 2017, 17:56:47 »
I am getting into the sub kits right now (and one new mod novelty design variant):



In order: 60% kit, compatibility kit, 40% kit, ortho kit.
Missing from here are TKL and numpad, mainly because they don't have fancy icons or thick bars at the bottom (instead, they're more like the alphas in terms of design)
« Last Edit: Tue, 24 October 2017, 17:58:52 by japanitrat »

Offline pixelpusher

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Re: [IC] DSA Discovery (working title)
« Reply #49 on: Tue, 24 October 2017, 22:25:17 »
Very nice work on the mods.  Creative and original but they totally make sense.