Author Topic: [IC] KAM Aquanaut (Updated 03/15/19)  (Read 61336 times)

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Offline ThomRM

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[IC] KAM Aquanaut (Updated 03/15/19)
« on: Mon, 18 February 2019, 08:53:40 »


Hey Guys!  This is an IC for my first pass at a custom set, meant to evoke the feeling of diving in some tropical paradise, DSA Aquanaut!
I've designed a full set of custom legends for this, including both text and icon modifiers and a few novelties.
DSA profile was chosen because I love the versatility of non-sculpted profiles, but I'd definitely be open to considering something else.  (Maybe all SA Row 3?)
Keyreative is going to be be producing the set, so it will be KAM profile!


I've included some faux-renders (and some actual renders!) that I put together, as well as the different kits I'm proposing.

Thanks for taking a look, and I'd love to hear your feedback!

Google Poll:  https://goo.gl/forms/jO3HpMYs5Rpe2nG93

Updates

02/19/19 - Slight tweaks to legends (M, Y, 3, Comma, Semicolon)
02/27/19 - This past week I've been trying to line up some partners to help get this made.  I think I should have a bigger update on that soon.  Added Polarnaut test.
03/15/19 - Tweaked colors after getting physical pantone chips, and added a few renders.  zFrontier and Keyreative will be helping to get this made.



















Renders









Kits



















Colors





Polarnaut

The reaction I've gotten to the legends has been pretty positive, so I wanted to get some eyes on this and see if there would be any interest in a more basic kit.  All white?

« Last Edit: Fri, 15 March 2019, 11:19:45 by ThomRM »

Offline AuthenticDanger

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Re: [IC] DSA Aquanaut
« Reply #1 on: Mon, 18 February 2019, 09:11:17 »
I like the feel of this and I *really* like the fish novelties.
F Keys belong on the left.

Re: [IC] DSA Aquanaut
« Reply #2 on: Mon, 18 February 2019, 09:31:31 »
Definitely interested, sweet color scheme!

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Offline Rensuya

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Re: [IC] DSA Aquanaut
« Reply #3 on: Mon, 18 February 2019, 09:32:47 »
I don't usually like sets with the fading to different colors effect. However this very nice, I'm digging the diving helmet. My only problem is I never liked the all one height profile thing DSA does. Gl with IC

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Offline vosechu

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Re: [IC] DSA Aquanaut
« Reply #4 on: Mon, 18 February 2019, 09:48:00 »
Love it! Where do I sign up? If you put together a google form that collects email you’ll be able to ping people when you enter gb stage.

Personally, I’m a fan of sa row3, but I think novelties significantly delay that process compared to dye sub dsa. But it’s worth asking sp, maybe these are simple enough to get a quick turn around!

People will complain about the lack of colevrak kit, but with the ombré style alphas it’s probably not worth it. Fwiw, this comment is coming from a Dvorak user.

My last comment is that the ortho kit could use a pair of 1.5u blanks to greatly increase compatibility, and if you’re feeling generous a pair of 1.25u blanks helps as well. Generally I do these in mod and alpha colors, but if you had to pick just one, mod colors seem to be the standard.

I think you’ve done a great job setting up this kit! Looking forward to the gb!

Offline LXVRGS

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Re: [IC] DSA Aquanaut
« Reply #5 on: Mon, 18 February 2019, 09:59:01 »
Yeah I need this in my life huge sucker for gradients.

Offline ThomRM

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Re: [IC] DSA Aquanaut
« Reply #6 on: Mon, 18 February 2019, 10:01:42 »
Love it! Where do I sign up? If you put together a google form that collects email you’ll be able to ping people when you enter gb stage.

Personally, I’m a fan of sa row3, but I think novelties significantly delay that process compared to dye sub dsa. But it’s worth asking sp, maybe these are simple enough to get a quick turn around!

People will complain about the lack of colevrak kit, but with the ombré style alphas it’s probably not worth it. Fwiw, this comment is coming from a Dvorak user.

My last comment is that the ortho kit could use a pair of 1.5u blanks to greatly increase compatibility, and if you’re feeling generous a pair of 1.25u blanks helps as well. Generally I do these in mod and alpha colors, but if you had to pick just one, mod colors seem to be the standard.

I think you’ve done a great job setting up this kit! Looking forward to the gb!

Thanks for the feedback!  The google form is a great idea, I'll get that put together as soon as possible!

I figured dye-sub DSA would be the cheapest with the quickest turnaround, but I do love SA row 3...

And I'd definitely be down to add other kits if there's interest!

Offline iaman

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Re: [IC] DSA Aquanaut
« Reply #7 on: Mon, 18 February 2019, 10:06:45 »
Digging the color choices here. Feel like it could use an anchor for a novelty key (or an extra "anchor arrows" kit)

Offline alexbarb

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Re: [IC] DSA Aquanaut
« Reply #8 on: Mon, 18 February 2019, 10:16:52 »
Good set!

Offline ThomRM

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Re: [IC] DSA Aquanaut
« Reply #9 on: Mon, 18 February 2019, 10:40:23 »
Digging the color choices here. Feel like it could use an anchor for a novelty key (or an extra "anchor arrows" kit)

Anchor arrows sound pretty fun!  I'll consider that!

Offline AuthenticDanger

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Re: [IC] DSA Aquanaut
« Reply #10 on: Mon, 18 February 2019, 11:13:59 »
Digging the color choices here. Feel like it could use an anchor for a novelty key (or an extra "anchor arrows" kit)

Anchor arrows sound pretty fun!  I'll consider that!

Additional novelty ideas:
Submarine, dive cage, shark fin, iceberg
F Keys belong on the left.

Offline piit79

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Re: [IC] DSA Aquanaut
« Reply #11 on: Mon, 18 February 2019, 12:10:01 »
Also interested, here's hoping for a reasonable price ;)

By the way, your Google form is not accessible outside your G Suite org, you need to set it to public.

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Offline ThomRM

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Re: [IC] DSA Aquanaut
« Reply #12 on: Mon, 18 February 2019, 12:11:57 »
Also interested, here's hoping for a reasonable price ;)

By the way, your Google form is not accessible outside your G Suite org, you need to set it to public.

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Oops!  Fixed that, thanks!

Offline anon23

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Re: [IC] DSA Aquanaut
« Reply #13 on: Mon, 18 February 2019, 12:39:52 »
I'm really liking it as well. Filled the IC form. I hope this will be a PBT set and DSA too.
-

Offline scoopbb

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Re: [IC] DSA Aquanaut
« Reply #14 on: Mon, 18 February 2019, 14:08:33 »
looks dope. i like it. Keyreative gonna do the set?

Offline ThomRM

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Re: [IC] DSA Aquanaut
« Reply #15 on: Mon, 18 February 2019, 16:08:00 »
looks dope. i like it. Keyreative gonna do the set?

Probably SP, but I haven't started talking to manufacturers yet.  I do really like the stuff Keyreative has put out though.

Offline alexbarb

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Re: [IC] DSA Aquanaut
« Reply #16 on: Mon, 18 February 2019, 16:21:03 »
number three looks fat) maybe you should put it on a diet? closer to 5

Offline alexbarb

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Re: [IC] DSA Aquanaut
« Reply #17 on: Mon, 18 February 2019, 16:36:57 »
Y — jumped. M — maybe it is worth making a straight vertical line without tilting? The rest of the set looks very good
« Last Edit: Mon, 18 February 2019, 16:40:15 by alexbarb »

Offline vicissitude

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Re: [IC] DSA Aquanaut
« Reply #18 on: Mon, 18 February 2019, 18:30:18 »
The alpha is so cool.
Just like diving in waters.

Offline scoopbb

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Re: [IC] DSA Aquanaut
« Reply #19 on: Mon, 18 February 2019, 18:36:19 »
looks dope. i like it. Keyreative gonna do the set?

Probably SP, but I haven't started talking to manufacturers yet.  I do really like the stuff Keyreative has put out though.

hope you can get a quote from keyreative. might be significantly cheaper.

Offline trabbit

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Re: [IC] DSA Aquanaut
« Reply #20 on: Mon, 18 February 2019, 20:10:42 »
looks dope. i like it. Keyreative gonna do the set?

Probably SP, but I haven't started talking to manufacturers yet.  I do really like the stuff Keyreative has put out though.

« Last Edit: Fri, 22 February 2019, 04:58:09 by trabbit »

Offline zukhan

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Re: [IC] DSA Aquanaut
« Reply #21 on: Mon, 18 February 2019, 22:08:05 »
looks great! will definitely pick up if sub $100

Offline MikeTheTiger

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Re: [IC] DSA Aquanaut
« Reply #22 on: Mon, 18 February 2019, 23:01:36 »
I’m in for the fish novelties alone. ;)

Offline turbo_tim

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Re: [IC] DSA Aquanaut
« Reply #23 on: Tue, 19 February 2019, 00:49:16 »
ff**** yes

Offline Puddsy

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Re: [IC] DSA Aquanaut
« Reply #24 on: Tue, 19 February 2019, 01:10:50 »
i super **** with this and wish i had a board to match it
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Offline meidodoragon

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Re: [IC] DSA Aquanaut
« Reply #25 on: Tue, 19 February 2019, 03:30:43 »
I love these colors! The fish novelties are adorable. I also like how the backspace icon modifier looks like a fish, too!

Offline Hedgey

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Re: [IC] DSA Aquanaut
« Reply #26 on: Tue, 19 February 2019, 08:40:48 »
A 1u Tab and 1.25 Ctrl in the Alternates kit would make this an instabuy for me.  That would fit a few of my 40's layouts easily.
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Offline ThomRM

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Re: [IC] DSA Aquanaut
« Reply #27 on: Tue, 19 February 2019, 10:09:13 »
Y — jumped. M — maybe it is worth making a straight vertical line without tilting? The rest of the set looks very good

number three looks fat) maybe you should put it on a diet? closer to 5

Thanks for the feedback!  I've adjusted the 3, Y, and M legends a bit.  The tilted M is a pretty distinctive feature of the typeset that served as my inspiration, so I wanted to preserve that.  The legends for the alphas are loosely based on a font used for 60s NASA charts/papers/etc and printed on some hardware.  Specifically, I looked at the Apollo Guidance Computer's DSKY.  I think Futura Demi Bold is a good comp for this typeface, but it's a little too crisp and I wanted to recreate the feel of printed letters. So what I've created is a kind of "softened" Futura Demi Bold... if that makes sense.

A 1u Tab and 1.25 Ctrl in the Alternates kit would make this an instabuy for me.  That would fit a few of my 40's layouts easily.

That sounds reasonable enough!

looks dope. i like it. Keyreative gonna do the set?

Probably SP, but I haven't started talking to manufacturers yet.  I do really like the stuff Keyreative has put out though.

hope you can get a quote from keyreative. might be significantly cheaper.

I think I'm going to try and get in touch with the Keyreative guys this week and see if they'd be willing to take this on.


Offline mrpetrov

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Re: [IC] DSA Aquanaut
« Reply #28 on: Tue, 19 February 2019, 10:21:00 »
I dig the alphas but I think the black legends on dark navy mods lacks sufficient contrast. I would suggest doing mod legends in the same color as one of the alpha gradients.

I’d also prefer any other profile to DSA but that’s just me.

Offline Minterly

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Re: [IC] DSA Aquanaut
« Reply #29 on: Tue, 19 February 2019, 12:36:27 »
I dig the alphas but I think the black legends on dark navy mods lacks sufficient contrast. I would suggest doing mod legends in the same color as one of the alpha gradients.

I’d also prefer any other profile to DSA but that’s just me.
I'd also prefer SA S3 but I'm hoping this guy does another run of a different colorway bc I love the design but not 100% into the color since I prefer pastels.

Offline Moridin

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Re: [IC] DSA Aquanaut
« Reply #30 on: Tue, 19 February 2019, 15:50:40 »
Please consider adding 1.5u keys for Vortex Race 3 (ESC and DEL) and 1u Pn.

Offline William_S_Jones

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Re: [IC] DSA Aquanaut
« Reply #31 on: Tue, 19 February 2019, 16:01:12 »
I love it, no suggestions. Saw this IC on RMK. I'm all for it!


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Offline Hisui

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Re: [IC] DSA Aquanaut
« Reply #32 on: Tue, 19 February 2019, 17:08:52 »
I love the gradient!

Offline FSund

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Re: [IC] DSA Aquanaut
« Reply #33 on: Wed, 20 February 2019, 05:21:45 »
This color scheme and legends look really good.

Have you considered MT3 PBT for this? This reduces compability somewhat compared to DSA, but it's a fantastic profile.
Check out MT3 Godspeed for more info: https://www.massdrop.com/buy/massdrop-x-mito-mt3-godspeed-custom-keycap-set
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Offline piit79

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Re: [IC] DSA Aquanaut
« Reply #34 on: Wed, 20 February 2019, 05:30:26 »
Orange Enter to match the Escape novelty, pretty please?

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Offline Moridin

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Re: [IC] DSA Aquanaut
« Reply #35 on: Wed, 20 February 2019, 06:37:07 »
Orange Enter to match the Escape novelty, pretty please?

Oh yes! :thumb:

Offline ThomRM

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Re: [IC] DSA Aquanaut
« Reply #36 on: Wed, 20 February 2019, 07:37:41 »
Orange Enter to match the Escape novelty, pretty please?

Oh yes! :thumb:

Not a bad suggestion!  I do like the diver as the single point of orange, to kind of give it that feeling of being such a tiny thing in the massive open ocean, but I will definitely consider adding an orange enter as well.

This color scheme and legends look really good.

Have you considered MT3 PBT for this? This reduces compability somewhat compared to DSA, but it's a fantastic profile.
Check out MT3 Godspeed for more info: https://www.massdrop.com/buy/massdrop-x-mito-mt3-godspeed-custom-keycap-set

It's a cool profile, for sure, but I'd really like to stick to something non-sculpted.  DSA, SA Row3, or maybe XDA if I could make that happen.


Offline FSund

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Re: [IC] DSA Aquanaut
« Reply #37 on: Wed, 20 February 2019, 07:55:40 »
Have you considered MT3 PBT for this? This reduces compability somewhat compared to DSA, but it's a fantastic profile.
Check out MT3 Godspeed for more info: https://www.massdrop.com/buy/massdrop-x-mito-mt3-godspeed-custom-keycap-set

It's a cool profile, for sure, but I'd really like to stick to something non-sculpted.  DSA, SA Row3, or maybe XDA if I could make that happen.

I fully respect the reasoning behind that. I would be mostly interested in PBT keycaps, and I'm guessing doubleshot ABS will be way to expensive anyway with all the custom colors and legends.
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Offline Dennyroxsox

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Re: [IC] DSA Aquanaut
« Reply #38 on: Wed, 20 February 2019, 09:04:59 »
Wow, I love the gradient on this set!

Offline ThomRM

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Re: [IC] DSA Aquanaut
« Reply #39 on: Wed, 20 February 2019, 09:32:43 »
Have you considered MT3 PBT for this? This reduces compability somewhat compared to DSA, but it's a fantastic profile.
Check out MT3 Godspeed for more info: https://www.massdrop.com/buy/massdrop-x-mito-mt3-godspeed-custom-keycap-set

It's a cool profile, for sure, but I'd really like to stick to something non-sculpted.  DSA, SA Row3, or maybe XDA if I could make that happen.

I fully respect the reasoning behind that. I would be mostly interested in PBT keycaps, and I'm guessing doubleshot ABS will be way to expensive anyway with all the custom colors and legends.

Yep!  This was designed for dye-sub PBT.

Offline ThomRM

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Re: [IC] DSA Aquanaut (Updated 02/27/19)
« Reply #40 on: Wed, 27 February 2019, 08:05:20 »
Hey guys, I wanted to give a quick update on this.

I'm currently talking to partners to help get this made, and definitely making progress.
I'll have a bigger update on that soon.

I also added a quick experiment with a more basic mono-white kit that I actually think looks pretty nice.  I would love to hear any thoughts on that!

I'm hoping to get some time this week to try out a few more novelty key designs.  Thanks for all of the feedback and interest so far!

Offline Moridin

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Re: [IC] DSA Aquanaut (Updated 02/27/19)
« Reply #41 on: Wed, 27 February 2019, 08:07:33 »

I also added a quick experiment with a more basic mono-white kit that I actually think looks pretty nice.  I would love to hear any thoughts on that!

Looking good!

Offline sandragm

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Re: [IC] DSA Aquanaut (Updated 02/27/19)
« Reply #42 on: Wed, 27 February 2019, 08:42:00 »
I also added a quick experiment with a more basic mono-white kit that I actually think looks pretty nice.  I would love to hear any thoughts on that!


I love the white mono kit. Insta-buy for me. Even more so if it were XDA.

Offline kidpid

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Re: [IC] DSA Aquanaut (Updated 02/27/19)
« Reply #43 on: Wed, 27 February 2019, 14:04:32 »
This set is super cool. I'd definitely rather see it on SA R3 or XDA. I get that you want the caps to look clean (which they do, they look great!), but have you checked what it would look like with the secondary characters on them (i.e. 1!, 2@, etc.)?
« Last Edit: Wed, 27 February 2019, 14:13:27 by kidpid »

Offline Gondolindrim

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Re: [IC] DSA Aquanaut (Updated 02/27/19)
« Reply #44 on: Wed, 27 February 2019, 14:11:12 »
I also added a quick experiment with a more basic mono-white kit that I actually think looks pretty nice.  I would love to hear any thoughts on that!

I'm hoping to get some time this week to try out a few more novelty key designs.  Thanks for all of the feedback and interest so far!

I'm all in for the white set.

If you make it XDA I'll get both of them and you'll have my mad respect
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Offline William_S_Jones

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Re: [IC] DSA Aquanaut (Updated 02/27/19)
« Reply #45 on: Wed, 27 February 2019, 14:58:56 »
I also added a quick experiment with a more basic mono-white kit that I actually think looks pretty nice.  I would love to hear any thoughts on that!

I'm hoping to get some time this week to try out a few more novelty key designs.  Thanks for all of the feedback and interest so far!

I'm all in for the white set.

If you make it XDA I'll get both of them and you'll have my mad respect
I agree & like your set too. DSA or XDA is fine w/ me. As shown w/ Oblique, my only concern w/ XDA is numerous factory delays. Either way, I'm ready for this set!


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Offline Minterly

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Re: [IC] DSA Aquanaut (Updated 02/27/19)
« Reply #46 on: Wed, 27 February 2019, 21:42:01 »
Holy **** yes 1000% yes on Polarnaut. If you make it SA R3 I'll get 3 sets. Grey on white is the exact colorway I was going to try and design myself and you've done all the work for me 😂

edit: ALSO but please keep the fish related adorable novelties because I love the fish thanks
« Last Edit: Wed, 27 February 2019, 21:43:40 by Minterly »

Offline lun0r

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Re: [IC] DSA Aquanaut (Updated 02/27/19)
« Reply #47 on: Thu, 28 February 2019, 03:17:53 »
In the beginning i thought : "This is an interesting colorful set! Perhaps that could be something for myself"

The more I watch these Renders, everyday, the more I want this set.

Make it possible! i WANT it!

Offline Moridin

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Re: [IC] DSA Aquanaut (Updated 02/27/19)
« Reply #48 on: Thu, 28 February 2019, 06:22:36 »
Please considering adding 1.5U Novelties and a 1,5u ESC and Delete key, for the Vortex Race 3. ❤️

Offline ThomRM

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Re: [IC] DSA Aquanaut (Updated 02/27/19)
« Reply #49 on: Thu, 28 February 2019, 08:01:27 »
In the beginning i thought : "This is an interesting colorful set! Perhaps that could be something for myself"

The more I watch these Renders, everyday, the more I want this set.

Make it possible! i WANT it!

Haha, that's awesome to hear!  I'm doing everything I can to make this happen!

This set is super cool. I'd definitely rather see it on SA R3 or XDA. I get that you want the caps to look clean (which they do, they look great!), but have you checked what it would look like with the secondary characters on them (i.e. 1!, 2@, etc.)?

I'd considered the secondary characters, but I really love the mono look and I think it fits the set more.  If I decide to reuse these legends for another set down the road I might add the secondaries though.

Holy **** yes 1000% yes on Polarnaut. If you make it SA R3 I'll get 3 sets. Grey on white is the exact colorway I was going to try and design myself and you've done all the work for me 😂

edit: ALSO but please keep the fish related adorable novelties because I love the fish thanks

So far the reaction to Polarnaut has been really good, so that could definitely maybe be a thing!  Right now I'm about 75% sure this is going to be DSA, probably to keep the price point and turnaround time reasonable, but I still haven't ruled out SA row 3.  I need to talk to some people to see what makes the most sense.