The Geist renders are just fantastic. This set's aesthetics, especially with those novelties, are top-notch. And the extras are the cherry on top of the cake. I think you have a real winner on your hands here, FV.
Hey there! Cool set you've got here. We've been discussing your kitting over in the 40% discord and I wanted to compile and share a few community thoughts. For starters, thank you for including a 40% kit!
Lets get started!
The 40s Kit:
- The 1.75u spacebar is a contentious little key. There are three different ways to handle the inclusion of a 1.75u spacebar:
- Include two 1.75u spacebars. The Prime_L, JD40, and JD45 use two 1.75u spacebars whereas the only keeb that uses a single 1.75u spacebar is the Vortex Core
- Include one 1.75u spacebar and the 1.75u minivan "Lock" key. This allows folks who use the Prime_L, JD40, and JD45 to use the minivan "Lock" key as one of the spacebars and for minivan users who use the 1.75u "Lock" key to not be forced to use the 1.75u spacebar. Most split bar users also do not map both split bars to be a space.
- The final option is to remove the 1.75u spacebar altogether. Among all split bars in the 40% community, the 1.75u is an odd bird.
- We'd love to see a 1.25u shift key included. This is not strictly mandatory as there are multiple 1.25u options in base kit. However, the prime_e uses 6x 1.25u modifiers AND a 1.25u shift, meaning if I were to join this GB for one of my prime_e boards, I would also have to pick up the "Additions" kit for that single 1.25u shift. This is not strictly a deal-breaker, but is definitely a nice to have key!
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There are some really good points here.
I think the right way to handle 1.75u space is to add a R4 1.75u
Lock key, which is required either way for Minivan support. Without it, there's not much point to having 1.75u Backspace and (to a certain extent) 1.5u Enter in the kit.
I agree with including 1.25u Shift in the kit since ISO keys aren't part of base.
On top of that, there are a few more changes that I'd make to the Extension kit. I'll summarize everything below:
- Add R4 1.75u Lock.
This key is for Minivan support and also works as a second 1.75u space substitute.
- Add R4 1.25u Shift.
If you're planning on keeping ISO keys separate from base.
- Remove either accent or non-accent 1.25u and 1.5u Enter keys.
These sizes are not used commonly enough to justify having both accent and non-accent options in the kit. That space could be put to much better use by having more compatibility-extending keys in the kit.
- Add a second R4 1u Shift.
Not all ortho users put Enter on R4, and some of them prefer having Shifts on both sides.
- Add a R3 1u Enter key.
For similar reasons as above, some ortho users prefer having Enter on R3.
- Change R3 1u ⭾ to ∧ (Ctrl icon).
Tab is actually one of the less popular options for ortho keys on R3 (source), and the Ctrl icon is generic-looking enough that it can also substitute for Shift, Caps and Fn, the other popular options.
The alternative would be to have a new mold created for a >_ icon (example), that this and future GMK sets would be able to use.
- I think the inclusion of the black 1u space keys is interesting, albeit not completely necessary.
I guess these are in the kit for aesthetic reasons (having an all-black bottom row on an ortho board), but they could also be useful for people who prefer convex Lower/Raise keys. While these keys are not exactly necessary and can be cut if the kit ends up on the expensive side, I think they're an interesting addition nonetheless.
- (optional) Consider including a R1 1u Backspace key.
This is for users of ortho boards with number rows, most notably the Preonic. But I wouldn't say this is a must, as the R1 Delete, R2 Backspace configuration is already supported.
On a separate note, as Mr. CustomerSupport has already pointed out, a 1u Alt key will need to be added to the Addition kit for the 1.5u Super keys to be usable.
