[IC] ALL NEW Midnight SA set

[pasph]

I'd love to add the twilight kits back but clearly there's not enough traction. Either twilight mods or variable+fixed row options. We can't have both.

Don't let today's **** ruin tomorrow's hopes

[Elrick]

Do the profiles of the Additional Modifiers need to be changed? All row 3 doesn't make a lot of sense anymore, does it?

Almost all modifiers are on row3 (SP doesn't have row4 modifiers), but maybe I missed something. What do you think need to be changed?

I still think having all Row3 means I can still fit out a G80-1800 with all the keys easily.  Hence please provide that comfort for those that still 'know' that the 1800 rules over all other keyboards here on Geekhack  .

[myrddin]

Kinda biased since I want a dvorak capable set of caps for a full tenkey layout, so with that in mind, the latest pic is missing:

* Replacement homerow keys for dvorak/colemak/etc.

* You can't do any non-ergodoxian non-qwerty layout without buying the slanted kit - ie, you can't get:
  -non-slanted modifiers/return/backspace/backslash etc
  -home/end/pgup/dn etc
  -numpad

tldr, I want a full TK layout in r3, without anything slanted weirdly - pretty please

[Cods]

Looks awesome in SA (my vote).
I'm in!

[Matt3o]

I don't think there's enough interest for slant and flat designs, but the heck, it costs me nothing adding both.

[Elrick]

I don't think there's enough interest for slant and flat designs, but the heck, it costs me nothing adding both.

That's the spirit, chuck in everything so no one misses out on what they want in this 'Second' Delivery of Midnight  .

[Matt3o]

Almost there

[pasph]

Imo 2 base sets sell half each while with 1base and 2 different mods you can reach moq more easily

[myrddin]

Looking good, last couple things that I can see:

-missing backspace from r3 set?
-Still have R1/R2 only for home/end/pgdn/pgup/ins/del

[Matt3o]

Looking good, last couple things that I can see:

-missing backspace from r3 set?
-Still have R1/R2 only for home/end/pgdn/pgup/ins/del

thanks for the report, I've noticed that. Also few more corrections and I believe I'll merge the numpads.

@pasph, yeah I agree, but I believe it is more important to have two options for the profile rather than two color options. I'll think about it once I finalized the kits.

[Matt3o]

More testing. Please let me know if you spot any errors



please note there are no custom legends! The few novelty keys are all already available legends. The spacebars are x2 just as place holder. I will add spacebars in other sizes

PS: I don't remember if 2u backspace is available in row1. I have to check

[Zebadule]

The ErgoDox stuff checks out. Probably want to throw a note up reminding people to pick up some blanks when this launches.

Thanks for working on this. It's good to see you back so quick.

[Elrick]

More testing. Please let me know if you spot any errors

Show Image

please note there are no custom legends! The few novelty keys are all already available legends. The spacebars are x2 just as place holder. I will add spacebars in other sizes

Very nice, the OS kit done in Row 3 is superb because it should make nearly every PC user happy here (despite me wanting to spew bile all over the screen at Win8 logo).

Still won't stop me buying it at all :).

[Cods]

Quit adding cool stuff!
 

[JaccoW]

For me it was simply too many other things coming out. Orion TKL + getting a 'Charred Orange' to match the SkiData set, Dolch, CMYW, GMK minipacks, Ivan's PBT round 3, GMK RGBY, Dyesub R2, buying an Ncase M1 and your own Skull Squadron set... and then the money was gone.

Midnight in DCS was something people said they wanted... and they were wrong.
It was a time-consuming (and hopefully not an expensive ) lesson for you.
Next time go with your gut and have people join you. It's less worries for you and a clearer picture for others.
I can imagine the promise of this being made in SA or DSA made some people wait for that.
One step at a time, don't promise anything and people that really liked it will join in on a second round in a different profile anyway.

Suffice to say, this would look great in SA. Just take a look at Penumbra.

(Courtesy of VesperSAINT)

P.S. What is the advantage of variable row vs all row 3 on SA?

[Matt3o]

P.S. What is the advantage of variable row vs all row 3 on SA?

Variable row: better ergonomics
Row 3: better on ergodox or if you want weird layouts (dvorak, etc), SP has modifiers only on row 3, so the keyboard at least looks uniform.

[agodinhost]

Matt3o

Just thinking about your idea - most of the keycaps are only row 3, would not be cheaper (and easier to produce) to assume only row 3?

And how about one extra "Icon Controller Set" for these SA sets?
Something like you did in the Granitte ...
 
I loved those icons - pretty awesome man!

Please, change the title of this thread - advertising is everything!
Something like "[IC] NEW Matt3o's SA Awesome Midnight set"
 

[Matt3o]

Just thinking about your idea - most of the keycaps are only row 3, would not be cheaper (and easier to produce) to assume only row 3?

yes, all row 3 would be easier and cheaper, but there are people willing to buy a variable row layout and I'm all in for options. GBs imho are to be able to get keys and options that you couldn't have otherwise.

And how about one extra "Icon Controller Set" for these SA sets?
Something like you did in the Granitte ...

to which kit are you referring to? Granite had a ton of novelty keys

[agodinhost]

to which kit are you referring to? Granite had a ton of novelty keys

this one

or/and this other one

[Matt3o]

oh you mean the icon modifiers... well... this is double-shot we don't have complete freedom in legend design. I may ask Melissa if they already have icon modifiers in SA.

[Willyc277]

Was really looking forward to the twiloght mods, but will buy the SA  set when  it goes live!

[HoffmanMyster]

More testing. Please let me know if you spot any errors

Show Image

please note there are no custom legends! The few novelty keys are all already available legends. The spacebars are x2 just as place holder. I will add spacebars in other sizes

PS: I don't remember if 2u backspace is available in row1. I have to check

This may be an unpopular opinion, but you're frustrated that the DCS buy didn't go through, so it's only fair to offer my reasoning for passing on it: there are way too many options for me.  If all I cared about was the standard 1.25 mod set I would have ordered it, because it was two pretty simple sets that weren't very expensive.  But I like what is traditionally a tsangan set, and that was split into at least two, possibly three different "kits".  I started thinking about all the sets I'd need to order on PMK and it got way too overwhelming.  I couldn't even keep track of which kits I'd need to order to get all the keys I needed, and once I finally wrapped my head around what I'd need it was quite expensive.  Maybe I'm imagining it, but it seemed more expensive than buys were a year ago when it was base, mods, tsangan.  I think that fracturing the sets increases prices.

Also, in this case, offering two different alpha sets is only going to complicate things and divide the orders.

I don't know what it is about this PMK system, but it's not user friendly.  You can't select multiple items and when you add something to your cart it takes you away from the page and you have to navigate back to the items.  This causes me to lose my train of thought on what I have and have not ordered, so then I turn to opening every kit I want in a new tab.  In this case, that means having 15 tabs open for one GB.

It's just wayy more cumbersome than the old SP GBs where you'd make a list and put a '1' in a google form for everything you want.

So maybe I'm alone here, but that's why I opted out of the DCS buy. 

Please don't get me wrong, I love what you're doing here.  I just think a simple, streamlined setup is going to yield much better results.  And sorry for the lengthy post.

[Matt3o]

thanks for your feedback, really appreciated.

I must say that I haven't played much on the front end of the PMK website (the backend is painful enough...), so every input is very much appreciated.

I don't if the fragmentation of kits is really a problem, though. Granite had way more kits than this and did very well (370 base sets, plus all the options).

Personally I like lots of options since I'm very much in custom keyboards, but I understand that maybe on average when you have 3-4 kits that's more than enough.

[IonutZ]

Are these pantone colors?

[JaccoW]

thanks for your feedback, really appreciated.

I must say that I haven't played much on the front end of the PMK website (the backend is painful enough...), so every input is very much appreciated.

I don't if the fragmentation of kits is really a problem, though. Granite had way more kits than this and did very well (370 base sets, plus all the options).

Personally I like lots of options since I'm very much in custom keyboards, but I understand that maybe on average when you have 3-4 kits that's more than enough.

Well, in this case the Alpha set was $35 but the mods were split in two groups + various bits and pieces were $53 each because they had a harder time hitting lower tiers.
Skull Squadron ended up being just $42 for a set that fit onto a TKL. (I realize that set had a special discount because it was the first to use the system)

If people are able to order a base set that fits a standard TKL/60% layout and can customize from there, that's a lot easier and probably cheaper for everyone in the end.

EDIT: This is not meant as an attack. I really do appreciate the hard work you have been putting in for all of these awesome sets.

[kle5635]

More testing. Please let me know if you spot any errors

Show Image

please note there are no custom legends! The few novelty keys are all already available legends. The spacebars are x2 just as place holder. I will add spacebars in other sizes

PS: I don't remember if 2u backspace is available in row1. I have to check

You're not making the wolf-head glowing kit? :( that's my favorite among all.

Anyway I agree that PMK is not a very efficient system. Other GBs I'm also in right now are using google form to order and that works just great. I also like your new design, but please put that glowing kit back in!

[Arcoril]

I'm really liking the way that this is looking in SA. I'm in on this group buy for sure. Thanks for putting this together! And now I'm really kicking myself for not getting in on that Vim SA key. Hopefully there will be another run or a few extras somewhere!

[Arcoril]

More testing. Please let me know if you spot any errors

Is there any way to get shift keys in R4 for the variable set? I think that's the only row that doesn't have a matched profile.

[Matt3o]

More testing. Please let me know if you spot any errors

Is there any way to get shift keys in R4 for the variable set? I think that's the only row that doesn't have a matched profile.

unfortunately that's not possible. SP doesn't have the molds.

Regarding Midnight DCS, we are sustaining the cost of some legends that were not available in cherry profile. Unfortunately the set will hardly tip so they will remain unsupported.

Also, to me Midnight is just the dark theme, I added the twilight mods because I've been asked so many times. Apparently I shouldn't listen too much to suggestions

[JaccoW]

Also, to me Midnight is just the dark theme, I added the twilight mods because I've been asked so many times. Apparently I shouldn't listen too much to suggestions

It's still awesome but yes, FOLLOW YOUR HEART!

[KaboomTheory]

Also, to me Midnight is just the dark theme, I added the twilight mods because I've been asked so many times. Apparently I shouldn't listen too much to suggestions

It's still awesome but yes, FOLLOW YOUR HEART!

Show Image

:P

The Twilight mods are what sold me on the initial design of the set. It adds more flare to the keyboard. I love what you've done with it so far and I'm hoping to get an sa profile when I can.

Great job, you deserve all the recognition you can get.

[cjhard]

Any chance for a MiniLa "space" and short shifts? It looks like if I spent a few $100 on the various packs I could piece together a MiniLa layout as-is, except for those two keys.

[Elrick]

Also, to me Midnight is just the dark theme, I added the twilight mods because I've been asked so many times. Apparently I shouldn't listen too much to suggestions

I love it due to it reminding me of a very dark Dolch set.  The green also is the highlight since it sparks an interest in brighly, coloured, legends for real 'midnight sessions' when all the lights are turned off and only the crickets and mosquitoes are ringing in the early morning.

Plus now you have chosen the SA Profile (god-like) status hence I wish this Group Buy springs forth into SP's molds as quickly as possible.

[Willyc277]

Only need 11 more base sets, wouldn't count the DCS out yet. Twilight needs 6 and midnight mods only need 3! Going to pimp it on r/mechanicalkeyboards.

[Elrick]

Only need 11 more base sets, wouldn't count the DCS out yet. Twilight needs 6 and midnight mods only need 3! Going to pimp it on r/mechanicalkeyboards.

This may actually turn out like Granite with everyone waiting till the last second to place an order, don't ask my why it happens because it's the norm now at PMK  .

[twiddle]

Only need 11 more base sets, wouldn't count the DCS out yet. Twilight needs 6 and midnight mods only need 3! Going to pimp it on r/mechanicalkeyboards.

Might be worth taking it back to DT as well. What's the etiquette there, bump the original post or make a new one?
I'd be really happy if DCS tipped, already got Penumbra in SA so I'd like to try a different profile, though I'll probably go for all-row-3 still if it doesn't.

[Willyc277]

Only need 11 more base sets, wouldn't count the DCS out yet. Twilight needs 6 and midnight mods only need 3! Going to pimp it on r/mechanicalkeyboards.

Might be worth taking it back to DT as well. What's the etiquette there, bump the original post or make a new one?
I'd be really happy if DCS tipped, already got Penumbra in SA so I'd like to try a different profile, though I'll probably go for all-row-3 still if it doesn't.

Who cares about etiquette, just get them to BUY. Just kidding. But I do have a DT account that I never use, so I don't care if they hate me.

[Willyc277]

So will any of the child deals be made if the base set doesn't make it? A guy on Reddit is asking about the GitD kit.

[skrooks]

It sounds like Massdrop will start shipping the latest round of Ergodox kits within a week or two, meaning the next Ergodox group buy will probably start around then. Given that, I'm guessing there will be quite a bit of interest around the row 3 kits.

I can dig having blanks on the Ergodox kit, but it might be nice to have another pair of 1.5x gray keys (either shade) so people have the option of having the two bright blank VCO keys or keep the whole thing subdued.

Do the Page Up, Page Down, Volume Up, and Volume Down keys need to be abbreviated for space? And backspace... one or two words?

[twiddle]

So will any of the child deals be made if the base set doesn't make it? A guy on Reddit is asking about the GitD kit.

Matt3o confirmed in the other thread that the base is required to tip for the others to do so:
http://geekhack.org/index.php?topic=59860.msg1399574#msg1399574

[Matt3o]

Do the Page Up, Page Down, Volume Up, and Volume Down keys need to be abbreviated for space? And backspace... one or two words?

Legends are based on what SP already has. I believe the vol up/down are not abbreviated. Backspace should be available in both versions.

[Willyc277]

Wow only need 6 more... Fingers crossed...

Someone should order some extras and sell them once they come in. Probably be an easy sell w/o all of the GB hassle.

[Heliosphere]

Seems like they decreased the MOQ to the current level so that almost everything tipped. I guess we're going to get it!

[Matt3o]

yes Midnight DCS is a go.

[HoffmanMyster]

After this recent buzz and the fact that the DCS profile buy tipped, I decided to commit fully and buy all the kits in the midnight modifier colorway. 

I just couldn't look at the mockups and not buy it.    It's a bit of a wallet hacker, but damn it is beautiful.   

A bit off topic from the new SA focus of this IC, but maybe others will do the same. 

[Matt3o]

I believe Nuclear data GB is coming up soon, I don't want to collide with other GBs in the same profile, so I'll push midnight SA when nuclear will end.

[SL89]

will the SA set have the Polycarb keys and the glow in the dark legends as well?

[Matt3o]

no polycarb. SP discourages SA+PC. I might add glow in the dark though.

[agodinhost]

I believe Nuclear data GB is coming up soon, I don't want to collide with other GBs in the same profile, so I'll push midnight SA when nuclear will end.

make sense
how about doing it in DSA?
I read someone somewhere above talking about this possibility ...
I would be in for 2 DSA sets ...
 

[JaccoW]

no polycarb. SP discourages SA+PC. I might add glow in the dark though.

I have one in my grabbag (right in between the Win and the Shamrock). Because it's translucent and SA is pretty thick, the plastic it doesn't look right. The edges bleed giving it a messy look.