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geekhack Marketplace => Interest Checks => Topic started by: Hakatype on Mon, 17 May 2021, 22:20:40

Title: [IC] KAM Soaring Skies - GROUP BUY IS LIVE
Post by: Hakatype on Mon, 17 May 2021, 22:20:40

GB is live! Please follow this link for further updates. (https://geekhack.org/index.php?topic=115116.0)

KAM Soaring Skies
Take your keyboard to new heights!


(https://i.imgur.com/Fcp3EY9.png)

(https://i.imgur.com/YI7rQav.jpg)


Hi y’all, Hakata here! I’m happy to present to all of you my latest project, KAM Soaring Skies.
This set was inspired by the airplane liveries I’d see at the airport when visiting my family in Japan growing up.
I still look back very fondly on looking out the window seat and seeing all of the pretty designs, and I wanted to bring that childhood feeling to life!

[IC Form] (https://forms.gle/UVgrU3F4FaeiQ2WJ9)

To follow this set’s progress, you can check out [KAM Soaring Skies channel in the Keycraft Collective Discord] (https://discord.gg/9UraJskJSd)

I also just started an Instagram (https://www.instagram.com/hakatype/) page for the set and possible future designs!


Design Overview

Profile: Glossy KAM
Fonts: Menco Bold (Latin), Yasashisa Gothic Bold V2 (ひらがな)
Colors: Pantone Reflex Blue & 305U, K100, Black will be referenced with the alphas from KAT Alpha

(https://i.imgur.com/PsioxrS.png)
These colors were shot under moderate, indirect sunlight.

(https://cdn.shopify.com/s/files/1/1994/3097/products/Kat_Alpha_on_Kira_940x627.jpg?v=1569290143)
 K100 is a neutral white, used in KAT Alpha (for reference).


Kitting Disclaimer

As a heads up, all of my kitting was done in Illustrator using the 2-D KAM template, as my background and education is in 2-D Design. This comes with some minor issues that I am aware of, most notably that you will see the difference in color between my .ai files and renders, which is a known issue with Adobe software. Adobe isn’t particularly good at showing my Pantone colors accurately, so please refer to the colors above.

Redeye mode was just added to round out the kitting at 21 kits, hopefully this strikes a better balance between simpler kitting options and the customizability KAM is known for.

Kitting (UPDATED 09/12)

More
(https://i.imgur.com/SATByxc.png)
Base Kit will have the option to remove the stripe if so desired.

(https://i.imgur.com/4IQrP3S.png)

(https://i.imgur.com/V8Qd5oU.png)

(https://i.imgur.com/AzINrSs.png)

(https://i.imgur.com/hjkYqib.jpg)

(https://i.imgur.com/kibDhvK.png)

(https://i.imgur.com/v8B3YgQ.jpg)

(https://i.imgur.com/xet83VQ.jpg)

(https://i.imgur.com/wwG30rX.jpg)

(https://i.imgur.com/0nmt0Yo.jpg)

(https://i.imgur.com/8onKts0.jpg)

(https://i.imgur.com/hzrxnzN.jpg)

(https://i.imgur.com/1VDWVCs.jpg)

(https://i.imgur.com/Az2stIe.jpg) 

(https://i.imgur.com/hFbje9s.jpg)

(https://i.imgur.com/XnONYIf.jpg)

(https://i.imgur.com/Og54xAa.jpg)

(https://i.imgur.com/SZh2RYa.jpg)

(https://i.imgur.com/3m6AKkd.jpg)

(https://i.imgur.com/VbDSFL8.jpg)
DISCLAIMER: JIS Kitting is slated to have a 4.5u spacebar, but Keyreative doesn't offer one. I am hoping that if I and enough designers push for it, we can get this compatibility either now or in the future.

(https://i.imgur.com/M0gbni9.jpg)



Renders

More


U80 by RAMA Works
(https://i.imgur.com/B6r39wJ.jpg)

Fuji65 by CMM.Studio
(https://i.imgur.com/eMrDWyO.jpg)

KBD8X Mk.ii by KBDFans
(https://i.imgur.com/zEydn4J.png)

Cypher by Cable Car Designs
(https://i.imgur.com/jBcS9kf.jpg)
This kitting is a combination of text TKL mods, latin-only alphas, and numpad kits. A stripeless layout is totally doable!

V4n4g0n by Trash Man
(https://i.imgur.com/zGbd8qt.png)
Blanks will have 40's support out of the box, but may require a spacebars kit for split bar layouts.

Nemui by Bachoo
(https://i.imgur.com/7tw5V1t.jpg)

Ikki68 Aurora by Wuque Studios
(https://i.imgur.com/gZEqqBQ.jpg)





GB Date

GB Date is currently October 28th - November 30th!

As of 6/28 the news is that Keyreative has my initial prototypes in the queue, but it will be a little while before I get my hands on them. Will update when I get more news.



Pricing

(https://i.imgur.com/uWrwAQV.png)


Questions

Why does this set look like KAT Great Wave?
UPDATE: I have spoken with the designers behind the set and they are fine with it. Still, it’s a totally reasonable question, and I must admit that the two look very similar. That said, the emphasis on the stripe is simpler on KAM Soaring Skies and meant to emulate the livery of ANA airlines with colors to more closely align with that. This set was developed independently of KAT Great Wave and I hope that the differences in inspiration, font, colors, and kitting/profile can demonstrate that.

Why is your set not fully rendered?
When I started this project, I didn't know how to render things in blender. Now that I've learned how, I've decided to not render this set, since I am more comfortable using Adobe Illustrator to demonstrate kitting. Accounting for that, I've tried to demo a few set variations in renders in order to get people a better idea of my vision of the set. Hopefully that's a sufficient middle ground.

No NorDe support?
My focus on the set was Japanese sublegends since I am a hafu, so I was wary of adding other languages to the set. I do have more specific ISO/UK support as a kit option, and there should be basic ISO coverage in the base/TKL mods kit. Apologies for my America-centric mindset, but if there’s enough demand for NorDe, I will reconsider. (EDIT 6/28: not enough demand was made for NorDe, and I will be moving forward without it)

What about Hiragana-only alphas?
This set has cultural significance to me, and as far as I'm aware of JIS boards, this wouldn't be accurate to a Japanese board. While I don't mind the addition of new kits, I will most likely not budge on this one.

Why does the base kit not have __?
The base kit is meant as a “designer’s intention for the board”, if you will. By default, the base kit will be set up for TKL and the optional stripe, in an effort to reduce the necessary keys and make it a simpler/cheaper purchase for most users. If you would like a 60-75% board to have something else such as icon mods, no sublegends, alt layout support, there is an Alpha + Mods kit combination to suit your needs. Alphas can but do not necessitate a stripe, and you can totally fit your board without one.

EDIT:I have walked this back and have added more base kits, though mostly in a compromise so I could give people more choices without adding bloat. Since the set was initially designed to have sublegends, all base kit configurations are with sublegends. If there isn't a base kit that works for you, there's a combination of alphas and mods to suit your needs.



Vendors:

US - Vala Supply
CAN - Ashkeebs
UK - Prototypist
EU - MyKeyboard
CN - zFrontier
SEA - Zion Studios
JPN - Basekeys
AUS - SwitchKeys


Collabs:


Shirouu.kaps
Miroticaps
Mochi Caps
KikoCaps
Klaykaps
Colored Controllers (keycaps)
Isoforms (deskmats)
HIBI


Artisan Renders: (HIBI)
(https://i.imgur.com/EZjAAAB.png)

To-Do List


- Get samples (PENDING, will take longer as I will get a full 60%-75% set for the samples)
- Make GB Post!
- Wait for GB!

Special Thanks To...

    • Keycraft Collective - An amazing group of up and coming designers in the scene, thank you for all the feedback and support! I’d name all of you in specific but there are too many of you to thank <3
    • Folks in CKC Voice Chat - Whether you're still there or not, y'all have made this project so much more fun than I ever expected it to be
    • Swishy - Your kitting advice helped me so much, thank you for taking time out of your day all those months ago. 80’s After Dark was a huge inspiration for the kitting, and a wonderful set as well.
    • Nhils - Your blender gifs really helped me navigate the UI hellscape that is blender, and I am grateful for the time you took to help me out
    • mini - For proofreading this word salad of an IC and helping with the bbcode, editing is often thankless work but really important too!
    • acitrin - For being an awesome friend and giving me the help I needed to make this set work, I was pretty sure this set was gonna fizzle out without your help.
    • kidviddy - Kitting for JIS was pretty hard to find resources for, so your changes were much appreciated.　どうもありがとう！
    To anyone who’s been there who’s been there throughout the design process and watched this set come along, I really couldn’t have done this without your support, so a special thanks goes out to all of you!

    if you would like to support this set, consider adding this URL to your signature! {img width=480 height=120}https://i.imgur.com/Fcp3EY9.png{/img} (replace the curly brackets with square brackets)
    Code: [Select]
    [url=https://geekhack.org/index.php?topic=112897.0][img width=480 height=120]https://i.imgur.com/Fcp3EY9.png[/img][/url]
    Title: Re: [IC] KAM Soaring Skies
    Post by: MIGHTY CHICKEN on Mon, 17 May 2021, 22:25:18
    Please do consider more kits such as Norde, icon mods, text icon mods, etc. I do love them all and KAM has a good moq system for making lots of kits.

    Would pref if you gave an option to remove the gradient and not force accent enter/arrows, I am not a fan of accent arrows very much.
    Title: Re: [IC] KAM Soaring Skies
    Post by: FishyKeebs on Mon, 17 May 2021, 22:28:56
    not a fan of text mods, would love to see icon.  Also why the forced enter
    Title: Re: [IC] KAM Soaring Skies
    Post by: Hakatype on Mon, 17 May 2021, 22:30:52
    Quote from: MIGHTY CHICKEN on Mon, 17 May 2021, 22:25:18
    Please do consider more kits such as Norde, icon mods, text icon mods, etc. I do love them all and KAM has a good moq system for making lots of kits.

    Would pref if you gave an option to remove the gradient and not force accent enter/arrows, I am not a fan of accent arrows very much.

    The stripe is supposed to be optional for those who buy the alphas kit and mods kit of their choosing, though if I am missing a key somewhere do let me know. My intention for the stripe was that it is optional if you so choose with the Alphas Kit and Mods, with the base just being the original intention for the set. The alpha kit should also leave users the option to use the stripe even if they are using a non-QWERTY layout such as Colemak or Dvorak.

    I will definitely look into more icon kits. I have been eyeing the misonocons for a little while.

    EDIT for clarity
    Title: Re: [IC] KAM Soaring Skies
    Post by: 2fifty3 on Mon, 17 May 2021, 22:41:11
    These colors are awesome and I love the text mods! The alphas + ortho kits look great looking forward to another GB for a nice Shiny KAM set!
    Title: Re: [IC] KAM Soaring Skies
    Post by: NovaRMK on Mon, 17 May 2021, 22:50:29
    Great wave, is that you?

    lol, jk. Those renders seem a little... scuffed? But those colors seem to work pretty well together  :thumb:
    Title: Re: [IC] KAM Soaring Skies
    Post by: Hakatype on Mon, 17 May 2021, 22:57:18
    Quote from: NovaRMK on Mon, 17 May 2021, 22:50:29
    Great wave, is that you?

    lol, jk. Those renders seem a little... scuffed? But those colors seem to work pretty well together  :thumb:

    Oh boy, I was expecting that comment to pop up at some point.

    As for the rendering, if you (or anyone, really) have any advice, it's certainly welcome! My guess is that the shadows reflecting off of the caps are white for some reason?
    Title: Re: [IC] KAM Soaring Skies
    Post by: yh on Mon, 17 May 2021, 23:02:05
    the renders are weird because the top of the caps aren't reflecting light. love the alphas colours but i would love it if they could fill up more space on the face of the cap, feels a bit empty for me. that being said, i can definitely get behind this set's theme, and i love it very much. good luck!
    Title: Re: [IC] KAM Soaring Skies
    Post by: Extra Fox on Mon, 17 May 2021, 23:05:23
    I had to do a double-take, but the light blue swath through 1, Q, A, Z, Alt really caught my eye. Also, Reflex Blue was my favorite blue to use back in my graphic design days.

    I dig the novelties, a lot really, but if I had any suggestion it would be to use more airport terminal symbology. Or even try to work in the Airport codes that inspired you into one? Anyway, just a thought.
    Title: Re: [IC] KAM Soaring Skies
    Post by: Hakatype on Mon, 17 May 2021, 23:13:21
    Quote from: yh on Mon, 17 May 2021, 23:02:05
    the renders are weird because the top of the caps aren't reflecting light. love the alphas colours but i would love it if they could fill up more space on the face of the cap, feels a bit empty for me. that being said, i can definitely get behind this set's theme, and i love it very much. good luck!

    Perfect, I'll definitely be fixing that then. Thank you so much for pointing it out!
    Title: Re: [IC] KAM Soaring Skies
    Post by: Indigu on Mon, 17 May 2021, 23:56:04
    I love the color scheme!
    Title: Re: [IC] KAM Soaring Skies
    Post by: adobau on Tue, 18 May 2021, 01:21:52
    I am all here for this!! Love the colors and the cute touch of the light blue gradient, Hakata 💖 GLWIC!
    Title: Re: [IC] KAM Soaring Skies
    Post by: DerBonk on Tue, 18 May 2021, 02:35:38
    I am in love with the vertical stripe. That look is almost tempting me to think about a row stagger board again, just to get that slanted stripe. Glossy finish also fits this set wonderfully and I love the theme and its significance for you. It all comes together nicely. Great work!

    My only suggestion would be to add some keys in the accent color to the numpad. I use an external numpad and as it stands without the accent, it'd look a bit boring next to the alphas with the vertical stripe.

    It's been great to follow your progress and finally see this in IC. Best of luck, Hakata!
    Title: Re: [IC] KAM Soaring Skies
    Post by: Runningtarrens on Tue, 18 May 2021, 08:09:31
    looks good but without NorDe and no homing kit i would not consider getting this. KAM supports so many layouts, it would be a shame to not having an extended homing kit.
    Title: Re: [IC] KAM Soaring Skies
    Post by: kidviddy on Tue, 18 May 2021, 10:19:32
    I really like the look of this, and I'm thrilled to see another kit with JIS support! I filled in the IC form, but I have a couple of comments regarding the JIS support to make here:


    As someone who actually uses kana-style input to type Japanese, I think it would frustrate me to have sublegends on some keys, but not on others. I wouldn't mind having no kana sublegends at all, or having them on everything, but having a mix would feel weird.

    My only other comment is that for an airline/ANA based theme like this one I might have chosen a more neutral font for the Japanese, like Gensen Maru Gothic (https://github.com/ButTaiwan/gensen-font), which I think is a good match for the rounded style of your Latin characters. But, the handwriting font you have right now is cute, so it wouldn't be a showstopper for me.
    Title: Re: [IC] KAM Soaring Skies
    Post by: nicoles on Tue, 18 May 2021, 10:22:20
    This is such a lovely set, I adore the diagonal/vertical stripe along the single row, it's so unique and indeed super aviation-feeling!

    I am usually icon-mods-only but the font is super lovely and feels very on theme. Is there any room for icon mods inside of rounded squares, like the Narita signage? Super fun to watch this evolve from DSA to this very thoughtful KAM set over the last 5? 6? months?
    Title: Re: [IC] KAM Soaring Skies
    Post by: atlanticise on Tue, 18 May 2021, 10:30:24
    this is such an interesting idea, though i think the font choice makes the set look a bit more like toy airplanes instead of classy airport. you mentioned that the idea was to have this whole set in glossy, so i think that's the most important thing to fix about your renders. just set the roughness to 0 or something. GLWIC, this idea has lots of potential!
    Title: Re: [IC] KAM Soaring Skies
    Post by: Hakatype on Tue, 18 May 2021, 12:38:34
    Quote from: kidviddy on Tue, 18 May 2021, 10:19:32
    As someone who actually uses kana-style input to type Japanese, I think it would frustrate me to have sublegends on some keys, but not on others. I wouldn't mind having no kana sublegends at all, or having them on everything, but having a mix would feel weird.

    My only other comment is that for an airline/ANA based theme like this one I might have chosen a more neutral font for the Japanese, like Gensen Maru Gothic (https://github.com/ButTaiwan/gensen-font), which I think is a good match for the rounded style of your Latin characters. But, the handwriting font you have right now is cute, so it wouldn't be a showstopper for me.

    Thank you so much for this feedback, this kind of kitting advice is super helpful and I'm honestly shocked to not have considered an option for non-sublegend alphas in the JIS kit (especially when I did for standard ISO... lol). I was hoping for someone with JIS knowledge to give pointers and this will go a long way towards ensuring the accuracy of the kitting I need!
    Title: Re: [IC] KAM Soaring Skies
    Post by: InverseDC on Tue, 18 May 2021, 17:00:50
    You're UK-ISO 3 has a € instead of a £.
    Your base kit 1u Pipes should be Alpha coloured.
    You're also missing the >/< key so that Terminal ISO can be used.

    Other than that looks nice, GLWIC
    Title: Re: [IC] KAM Soaring Skies
    Post by: mizuwolf on Tue, 18 May 2021, 17:09:02
    This really hits the nostalgia from my Japan trips and makes me want to go back, I'm looking forward to this set! (though I might just save up and go to japan too at this point haha)
    Title: Re: [IC] KAM Soaring Skies
    Post by: SDKCAMPING on Tue, 18 May 2021, 17:34:04
    Cute theme, just noticed the header image is a plane ticket
    Title: Re: [IC] KAM Soaring Skies
    Post by: Shiba1337 on Wed, 19 May 2021, 01:08:16
    https://vala.supply/products/kat-great-wave

    You might want to take a look at this
    Title: Re: [IC] KAM Soaring Skies
    Post by: Hakatype on Wed, 19 May 2021, 17:23:46
    Quote from: Shiba1337 on Wed, 19 May 2021, 01:08:16
    You might want to take a look at this

    Hey Shiba! I addressed this in my IC, and I am well aware of Great Wave. I do believe that this set does set itself apart for the reasons stated. Figured the comparisons were inevitable (and understandable) but I will continue onward regardless. By the time this set is completed according to the changes I will have to make and the standards I have for this project, I think it will be far enough behind Great Wave to not be an issue for either party.
    Title: Re: [IC] KAM Soaring Skies
    Post by: convoliution on Wed, 19 May 2021, 17:38:49
    Personally, even though the colors are similar (which is a touch difficult to avoid given that Great Wave was a gradient set that nabbed a lot of the blue spectrum), I think the theming is strong and self-consistent enough for this set to stand alone and apart. Maybe the shades could be shifted, but they're also reasonably true to ANA as-is.

    Out of curiosity, have you spoken with the designers behind Great Wave about the color similarities? It might be an important courtesy in the community to check in with them.
    Title: Re: [IC] KAM Soaring Skies
    Post by: Hakatype on Wed, 19 May 2021, 17:58:27
    Quote from: convoliution on Wed, 19 May 2021, 17:38:49
    Personally, even though the colors are similar (which is a touch difficult to avoid given that Great Wave was a gradient set that nabbed a lot of the blue spectrum), I think the theming is strong and self-consistent enough for this set to stand alone and apart. Maybe the shades could be shifted, but they're also reasonably true to ANA as-is.

    Out of curiosity, have you spoken with the designers behind Great Wave about the color similarities? It might be an important courtesy in the community to check in with them.

    I have not, though I will definitely reach out to them at some point soon, and update when it happens. It's definitely hard to make another blue set in this space with all those colors being used!
    Title: Re: [IC] KAM Soaring Skies
    Post by: Hakatype on Wed, 19 May 2021, 18:21:18
    UPDATE on the set similarities:

    I have spoken to the designers of KAT Great Wave and they were cool with my set. If you're here you probably already know about them but I will still suggest you check their set out because it's cool and they're cool.

    https://vala.supply/products/kat-great-wave
    Title: Re: [IC] KAM Soaring Skies
    Post by: gem on Wed, 19 May 2021, 18:51:16
    i'm a fan of this set! it does an excellent job of calling back to the inspiration with just the colors :-)

    i'll echo what a couple other folks have already mentioned which is that the font you chose for the hiragana looks handwriting-y/a bit childish to me which clashes with the theme a bit (imo) -- but it is very cute and wouldn't be a dealbreaker. glwic!

    (also, as someone who's nikkei/hafu as well, i was super surprised that omiage is also a valid reading for omiyage! looked it up because i had never seen that spelling before.)
    Title: Re: [IC] KAM Soaring Skies
    Post by: Hakatype on Wed, 19 May 2021, 20:46:41
    Quote from: gem on Wed, 19 May 2021, 18:51:16
    i'm a fan of this set! it does an excellent job of calling back to the inspiration with just the colors :-)

    i'll echo what a couple other folks have already mentioned which is that the font you chose for the hiragana looks handwriting-y/a bit childish to me which clashes with the theme a bit (imo) -- but it is very cute and wouldn't be a dealbreaker. glwic!

    (also, as someone who's nikkei/hafu as well, i was super surprised that omiage is also a valid reading for omiyage! looked it up because i had never seen that spelling before.)

    To be honest I didn't realize it was spelled differently in the first place! I actually looked it up and it looks like the English way of saying it does have a "y". I do think though for the sake of clarity that it's worth editing to be a more common spelling. Good eye!

    I do understand why the Japanese font choice has been a bit contentious, and I think it'd look really cool if my font choices were more geometric. But the set is designed with a childlike aesthetic partially because the design intention was to evoke trips I was taking to Japan growing up. Thinking fun stuff that ANA used to do like Pokemon planes (which would make for the coolest novelties but I don't want to deal with lawyers!). It also has the added benefit of creating more of gap between my design and the similarities between Great Wave.
    Title: Re: [IC] KAM Soaring Skies
    Post by: jetsbased on Wed, 26 May 2021, 00:19:41
    super super excited for your work! the colors are well done, matching the airline. i'll consider this set definitely! will put in a IC form soon here!
    Title: Re: [IC] KAM Soaring Skies (KITTING UPDATED 6/28, Initial vendor found!)
    Post by: Hakatype on Mon, 28 June 2021, 17:04:29
    Updated Kitting a few times, got a vendor (tysm Vala Supply!), and a new render with the KBD8X to show off icon mods and ISO! I'm hoping to get the rest of the vendors lined up soon.

    Sorry it took so long to update with anything substantial, but I've been working quietly for a while now. I have one collab in the works with a friend who does amazing artwork for deskmats coming up as well! More to come hopefully.
    Title: Re: [IC] KAM Soaring Skies (KITTING UPDATED 6/28, Initial vendor found!)
    Post by: DerBonk on Tue, 29 June 2021, 03:07:39
    Kitting looks good to me. I enjoy that alphas and novelties are enough for smaller ergo splits, like the Corne, and still allow you to have a strong theme. I think you still have the old novelties kit in there, though. Really showed the fantastic effort you put into the new novelties, however. Really love the ISO-Enter and that there is more airport signage now.
    Title: Re: [IC] KAM Soaring Skies (KITTING UPDATED 6/28, Initial vendor found!)
    Post by: kidviddy on Tue, 29 June 2021, 10:03:44
    Hey, took another look at the JIS kitting. It is much improved, but there are still some issues:


    Nice work! I appreciate the presence of a JIS kit, and hope these little corrections can help to make it just perfect :-)
    Title: Re: [IC] KAM Soaring Skies (KITTING UPDATED 6/28, Initial vendor found!)
    Post by: Hakatype on Tue, 29 June 2021, 14:06:14
    Quote from: kidviddy on Tue, 29 June 2021, 10:03:44
    Hey, took another look at the JIS kitting. It is much improved, but there are still some issues:

    Ok, just fixed it! Thanks again for all of your input, it helps a ton to have someone skilled in JIS looking at this kit and making sure it's right. When trying to make the latin only JIS keys, I definitely had some oversights in the duplication of keys so I def missed a few.
    Title: Re: [IC] KAM Soaring Skies (KITTING UPDATED 6/28, Initial vendor found!)
    Post by: kidviddy on Tue, 29 June 2021, 20:41:22
    Quote from: Hakatype on Tue, 29 June 2021, 14:06:14
    Ok, just fixed it!

    Nice! Just two more issues that I can see (sorry I didn’t spot these in the last round):

    Title: Re: [IC] KAM Soaring Skies (KITTING UPDATED, all vendors announced!)
    Post by: Hakatype on Thu, 01 July 2021, 01:28:01
    Vendors have been announced for the set! Thanks again to all of the vendors for their help and support, I've def enjoyed talking to y'all about the set and I look forward to seeing where the project goes from here.
    Title: Re: [IC] KAM Soaring Skies (KITTING UPDATED, all vendors announced!)
    Post by: chaoskills08 on Thu, 01 July 2021, 09:21:40
    So, I adore this. More shiny KAM is phenomenal and I am stunned it took this long after LP to have another. I will be purchasing.

    That said, I know you said 80sAD was a big inspiration; 80sAD had support in its 40s kit for a board called QAZ, which includes a 1.25u P, 1.75u Z, 1.25u A and a 1.5 period/>. This would be phenomenal support because it's one of the more popular boards in the 40s space now. Again, I adore this set and will be purchasing regardless, I just would LOVE to see QAZ support since we were able to get Minivan support. Thank you for your consideration!
    Title: Re: [IC] KAM Soaring Skies (KITTING UPDATED, all vendors announced!)
    Post by: honorless on Thu, 01 July 2021, 11:33:37
    greetings Hakatype! we spoke for a tiny bit earlier. Discord is terrible for textdumps so I'm posting here in response.

    The fact that you added the stripe for " and ; so some non-QWERTY users could enjoy the theme is rad as hell btw. Will definitely spread the word with typist gang.

    Your spacebars kit needs 2 3u keys, for 3/1/3 split boards. It doesn't need 2 1u's though; multiple 1u spaces is only an ortho/40s thing. (The duplication between 40s and spacebars is fine for KAM, I'd say. It means 40s users who want two 3u bars don't have to buy a whole extra kit...and also big board users who want them don't have to buy a whole extra kit.)

    I can see you have added a couple of "Cmd" keys as a nod to Mac users to various kits. That's cool, but from various requests/complaints I have seen on GH I think you need to either go all the way and add full legend support, or just not bother because the key won't be used. For instance, on boards with 7u spacebar, the bottom row mods would be 1.5u dark blue Control, 1u dark blue Opt/Alt, 1.5u light blue Fly/Command, spacebar, 1.5u dark blue Fly/Command, 1u dark blue Opt/Alt, and 1.5u dark blue Control. You don't have the keys for this ATM.

    Mac users may also be interested in F13, F14 and F15 legends since unlike other operating systems, these keys actually do things out of the box on a Mac.

    ...I also don't think anyone in 40s cares about having Cmd esp since it's an alias for Fly, but they're welcome to chime in on that.

    40s kit

    Please add the following:

    A second 1.75u spacebar. 95% of boards that use this size spacebar need 2 of them. This shouldn't go in the spacebar kit though; I don't think there are any non-40s boards that use this size.
    A 2u Backspace. This is an optional layout for boards like Candybar, JD45/Phoenix45, and other "13u" boards. This is not a huge requirement but a very nice to have, since this key can be hard to find for people who like the layouts.
    Two 1.5u spacebars. Some Corne users really appreciate these. Bottom row mod keys can still be used for this, so it is not a huge requirement.

    Quote from: chaoskills08 on Thu, 01 July 2021, 09:21:40
    This would be phenomenal support because it's one of the more popular boards in the 40s space now.

    With all the love and respect in the world: this is not true and I don't want Hakatype or anyone else who might stumble across this thread to walk away thinking QAZ support is crucial/important.

    No. QAZ is niche as f*** and it not being supported by a set is not in any way a real omission.

    THAT SAID

    Since this is KAM, meaning all keys are the same row, nobody has to pay for expensive doubleshot molds, and the cost/minimum order quantity system makes child kits zero-risk?
    I think it would be a very nice bonus if Soaring Skies were to add QAZ support to its 40s kits. It would obviously be appreciated. :)
    If you wanted to minimize the number of keys, you could force the light blue stripe. It would look cute af I bet. And I don't think anyone would mind the additional cost on the 40s kit. (If someone disagrees, they are welcome to say so.)
    Title: Re: [IC] KAM Soaring Skies
    Post by: Havattack on Thu, 01 July 2021, 13:43:46
    Quote from: DerBonk on Tue, 18 May 2021, 02:35:38
    I am in love with the vertical stripe. That look is almost tempting me to think about a row stagger board again, just to get that slanted stripe. Glossy finish also fits this set wonderfully and I love the theme and its significance for you. It all comes together nicely. Great work!

    My only suggestion would be to add some keys in the accent color to the numpad. I use an external numpad and as it stands without the accent, it'd look a bit boring next to the alphas with the vertical stripe.

    It's been great to follow your progress and finally see this in IC. Best of luck, Hakata!

    SAME. The stripe is such a cool, but simple addition, I love it.
    .....and now i want a "stripe" on all my keysets..
    Title: Re: [IC] KAM Soaring Skies (KITTING UPDATED, all vendors announced!)
    Post by: seh0nk on Thu, 01 July 2021, 15:58:19
     Looks amazing :thumb:
    Title: Re: [IC] KAM Soaring Skies (KITTING UPDATED, all vendors announced!)
    Post by: Hakatype on Sat, 10 July 2021, 04:02:34
    Quote from: honorless on Thu, 01 July 2021, 11:33:37
    greetings Hakatype! we spoke for a tiny bit earlier. Discord is terrible for textdumps so I'm posting here in response.

    The fact that you added the stripe for " and ; so some non-QWERTY users could enjoy the theme is rad as hell btw. Will definitely spread the word with typist gang.

    Your spacebars kit needs 2 3u keys, for 3/1/3 split boards. It doesn't need 2 1u's though; multiple 1u spaces is only an ortho/40s thing. (The duplication between 40s and spacebars is fine for KAM, I'd say. It means 40s users who want two 3u bars don't have to buy a whole extra kit...and also big board users who want them don't have to buy a whole extra kit.)

    I can see you have added a couple of "Cmd" keys as a nod to Mac users to various kits. That's cool, but from various requests/complaints I have seen on GH I think you need to either go all the way and add full legend support, or just not bother because the key won't be used. For instance, on boards with 7u spacebar, the bottom row mods would be 1.5u dark blue Control, 1u dark blue Opt/Alt, 1.5u light blue Fly/Command, spacebar, 1.5u dark blue Fly/Command, 1u dark blue Opt/Alt, and 1.5u dark blue Control. You don't have the keys for this ATM.

    Please add the following:...

    ... QAZ is niche as f*** and it not being supported by a set is not in any way a real omission.

    Totally cut the hell out of this quote but thank you so much for this feedback, and I apologize that it took so long to implement! Life stuff got in the way of fixing the kitting but it should be ok now. To address parts of your post:

    I'm glad that I can be accommodating to folks with alt layouts! I wanted to make sure the general vision of this set was accessible to people who have Dvorak and other layouts, since uniform makes it possible and I really feel bad for those folks who got sets like SA Dreameater and had to place the caps in qwerty lest they get a wacky set of colors.

    I implemented your suggestions and decided to air on the side of cutting Mac support just to play on the side of needing less caps and dealing with less of the headache that comes with the implementation. QAZ support was added but I decided to force Latin-only for the layout. This was based on the idea that QAZ is a more minimal set and deserves a more minimal typographical treatment than the sublegends (besides the board missing keys to fill out all the hiragana anyways). Figured that I lost a few keys in removing command and could add in QAZ support instead.

    If I added too much, or missed something, please don't be afraid to let me know.
    Title: Re: [IC] KAM Soaring Skies (KITTING UPDATED, all vendors announced!)
    Post by: HappyB0T on Sun, 11 July 2021, 00:23:33
    Really like the aesthetic / theme! Kam Little Dragon and Kam Superuser had around 20+ kits each. I like the concept and the colorway but I would be much more inclined to buy if I knew I could get my hands dirty by mixing up kits.  GLWIC!
    Title: Re: [IC] KAM Soaring Skies (KITTING UPDATED, all vendors announced!)
    Post by: honorless on Sun, 11 July 2021, 18:40:44
    Quote from: Hakatype on Sat, 10 July 2021, 04:02:34
    If I added too much, or missed something, please don't be afraid to let me know.
    Honestly, I can't think of much atm other than awesome job and GLWIC/GB.
    Title: Re: [IC] KAM Soaring Skies (KITTING UPDATED, all vendors announced!)
    Post by: GLOVE on Sun, 11 July 2021, 20:37:04
    Great idea. The color also looks comfortable
    Title: Re: [IC] KAM Soaring Skies (KITTING UPDATED, all vendors announced!)
    Post by: james97 on Sun, 11 July 2021, 20:38:55
    The color í great, keep up with your hard work  :)
    Title: Re: [IC] KAM Soaring Skies (KITTING UPDATED, all vendors announced!)
    Post by: Hakatype on Mon, 19 July 2021, 01:42:29
    Sorry for that mistake, tried to make some edits and made them permanent. Apologies!
    Title: Re: [IC] KAM Soaring Skies (KITTING UPDATED, all vendors announced!)
    Post by: Hakatype on Mon, 19 July 2021, 01:44:03
    ... >.< I am so bad at this UI
    Title: Re: [IC] KAM Soaring Skies (KITTING UPDATED, all vendors announced!)
    Post by: Hakatype on Mon, 19 July 2021, 01:49:10
    Quote from: HappyB0T on Sun, 11 July 2021, 00:23:33
    Really like the aesthetic / theme! Kam Little Dragon and Kam Superuser had around 20+ kits each. I like the concept and the colorway but I would be much more inclined to buy if I knew I could get my hands dirty by mixing up kits.  GLWIC!

    Thank you for this feedback, my kitting strategy was to make the kits easy to identify coverage for, but I did make the set count really low as a result. While I disagree with the idea of needing 30+ kits, I know it's popular for KAT/KAM, and decided to up the kit count from 13 to 15. The kits added were blanks and a base configuration with icon mods for TKL and smaller sizes.
    Title: Re: [IC] KAM Soaring Skies (KITTING UPDATED, all vendors announced!)
    Post by: HappyB0T on Mon, 19 July 2021, 08:10:37
    Quote from: Hakatype on Mon, 19 July 2021, 01:49:10
    Quote from: HappyB0T on Sun, 11 July 2021, 00:23:33
    Really like the aesthetic / theme! Kam Little Dragon and Kam Superuser had around 20+ kits each. I like the concept and the colorway but I would be much more inclined to buy if I knew I could get my hands dirty by mixing up kits.  GLWIC!

    Thank you for this feedback, my kitting strategy was to make the kits easy to identify coverage for, but I did make the set count really low as a result. While I disagree with the idea of needing 30+ kits, I know it's popular for KAT/KAM, and decided to up the kit count from 13 to 15. The kits added were blanks and a base configuration with icon mods for TKL and smaller sizes.

    Thanks for the great additions and your response to feedback in general. In on this for sure.
    Title: Re: [IC] KAM Soaring Skies (KITTING UPDATED, all vendors announced!)
    Post by: Hakatype on Sun, 08 August 2021, 18:28:04
    Quote from: HappyB0T on Mon, 19 July 2021, 08:10:37
    Quote from: Hakatype on Mon, 19 July 2021, 01:49:10
    Quote from: HappyB0T on Sun, 11 July 2021, 00:23:33
    Really like the aesthetic / theme! Kam Little Dragon and Kam Superuser had around 20+ kits each. I like the concept and the colorway but I would be much more inclined to buy if I knew I could get my hands dirty by mixing up kits.  GLWIC!

    Thank you for this feedback, my kitting strategy was to make the kits easy to identify coverage for, but I did make the set count really low as a result. While I disagree with the idea of needing 30+ kits, I know it's popular for KAT/KAM, and decided to up the kit count from 13 to 15. The kits added were blanks and a base configuration with icon mods for TKL and smaller sizes.

    Thanks for the great additions and your response to feedback in general. In on this for sure.

    I'm glad to hear that! I have added additional kits as well, so now we're at 20. I think this new color option will do well to make the options fun and exciting for anyone interested.
    Title: Re: [IC] KAM Soaring Skies (Redeye kits added, new collabs and Q4 GB!)
    Post by: William_S_Jones on Sun, 08 August 2021, 23:36:17
    I like this. I plan on to be In for both alpha colorways, both numpads, 2 40s, & novelty kits.

    Sent from my Surface Duo using Tapatalk

    Title: Re: [IC] KAM Soaring Skies (Redeye kits added, new collabs and Q4 GB!)
    Post by: HappyB0T on Sun, 08 August 2021, 23:55:01
    I love the name of the new kit but it doesn't resonate anywhere near as the light alphas. A very dark cool grey like a dark paynes grey would make more sense to me. Still loving the set :D
    Title: Re: [IC] KAM Soaring Skies (New collabs and GB Date!)
    Post by: Hakatype on Sun, 29 August 2021, 23:37:56
    Updated with GB date and one more collab! Klaykaps will be releasing a keycap in conjunction with the set! :)
    Title: Re: [IC] KAM Soaring Skies (New collabs and GB Date!)
    Post by: MelonBred on Wed, 08 September 2021, 17:34:44
    Really great work, Hakata! Super stoked for this keycap set. Is there any news on Keyreative's queue or when this group buy would be expected to ship (tentative/estimate, of course)?
    Title: Re: [IC] KAM Soaring Skies (New collabs and GB Date!)
    Post by: Hakatype on Thu, 09 September 2021, 14:36:55
    Quote from: MelonBred on Wed, 08 September 2021, 17:34:44
    Really great work, Hakata! Super stoked for this keycap set. Is there any news on Keyreative's queue or when this group buy would be expected to ship (tentative/estimate, of course)?

    Aww thanks for the kind words! Unfortunately I really haven't been able to get that information from them and have been told "soon" for the last few months :( I will definitely update when I do get that information!
    Title: Re: [IC] KAM Soaring Skies (New collabs and GB Date!)
    Post by: DrHigsby on Wed, 22 September 2021, 11:23:46
    Looks like the second 2.25u spacebar in the 40s/ortho kit is the wrong size. It appears to be a 2u in size.
    It also looks like the second 2u spacebar in the 40s/ortho kit is the wrong size. It appears to be a 1.75u in size.

     :cool:

    edit: I said the thing backwards.
    Title: Re: [IC] KAM Soaring Skies (New collabs and GB Date!)
    Post by: kameron on Wed, 22 September 2021, 11:31:18
    please consider adding alpha colored pipe
    Title: Re: [IC] KAM Soaring Skies (New collabs and GB Date!)
    Post by: Hakatype on Mon, 27 September 2021, 00:48:35
    Quote from: DrHigsby on Wed, 22 September 2021, 11:23:46
    Looks like the second 2.25u spacebar in the 40s/ortho kit is the wrong size. It appears to be a 2u in size.
    It also looks like the second 2u spacebar in the 40s/ortho kit is the wrong size. It appears to be a 1.75u in size.

    Sorry for the delay in responding, just fixed it! Thank you so much for catching it.
    Title: Re: [IC] KAM Soaring Skies (Hibi Collab Announced, GB in 3 weeks!)
    Post by: Hakatype on Wed, 06 October 2021, 21:45:44
    Hibi metal artisan announced, Group Buy is coming up on the 28th... Hope y'all are ready 👀
    Title: Re: [IC] KAM Soaring Skies - PRICING UPDATE, GB on 10/28!
    Post by: Hakatype on Thu, 21 October 2021, 23:47:00
    PRICING IS HERE!

    and be ready, 1 more week till it starts!
    Title: Re: [IC] KAM Soaring Skies - GROUP BUY IS LIVE
    Post by: Hakatype on Wed, 27 October 2021, 23:26:00
    Group buy post is live! Hope to see you there! (https://geekhack.org/index.php?topic=115116.0)