Love the concept, but like previously mentioned, if GMK isn't willing to or reasonably quote you on new alpha molds, you could consider KKB or DMK. I think DMK actually did something recently where they mirrored the alphas and ePBT did something similar with ePBT Cool Kids
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alphas dont seem that doable with GMK (or any doubleshot manu at all); it's a cool concept but you have to factor in usability for ordinary users as well
Familiarize yourself with GMK's mold restrictions and guidelines (https://ounku-my.sharepoint.de/personal/g_sebald_gmk-electronic-design_de/_layouts/15/onedrive.aspx?id=%2Fpersonal%2Fg%5Fsebald%5Fgmk%2Delectronic%2Ddesign%5Fde%2FDocuments%2FGuidelines%20for%20Custom%20GMK%20Keycap%20Set%5F12%2Epdf&parent=%2Fpersonal%2Fg%5Fsebald%5Fgmk%2Delectronic%2Ddesign%5Fde%2FDocuments&ga=1)
Familiarize yourself with GMK's mold restrictions and guidelines (https://ounku-my.sharepoint.de/personal/g_sebald_gmk-electronic-design_de/_layouts/15/onedrive.aspx?id=%2Fpersonal%2Fg%5Fsebald%5Fgmk%2Delectronic%2Ddesign%5Fde%2FDocuments%2FGuidelines%20for%20Custom%20GMK%20Keycap%20Set%5F12%2Epdf&parent=%2Fpersonal%2Fg%5Fsebald%5Fgmk%2Delectronic%2Ddesign%5Fde%2FDocuments&ga=1)
Can you host that document in a way that makes it accessible? Link just asks me to log in with an MS account and when I do I get an error message saying I don't have access to the document.
I'm in for the arrow keys doing the Spider Man pointing at Spider Man meme. Oh, wait, I can do that now! Seriously though, I like where you're going with the set and would love to see it come to fruition with GMK or someone else. GLWIC.
Love the concept, but like previously mentioned, if GMK isn't willing to or reasonably quote you on new alpha molds, you could consider KKB or DMK. I think DMK actually did something recently where they mirrored the alphas and ePBT did something similar with ePBT Cool Kids
the R2 novs seems a bit more difficult to understand intuitively or at first sight compared to other novsI agree - I know novelties need some fine tuning. They may end up scrapped in a later update but as of now I do like the concepts. And thanks for the heads up on readability of the R2 novelties.
since this is a concept test no comments on kitting but the huge numpad enter looks a bit wack haha
edit: also logically shouldn't QWE etc rotate more than RTY etc?
What is wrong with you people this is literally a check of interest, stop enforcing disco gaming adventures
alphas dont seem that doable with GMK (or any doubleshot manu at all); it's a cool concept but you have to factor in usability for ordinary users as well
You specifically asked for feedback and criticism, so I won't sugarcoat it.Thanks so much for writing this out!
This "IC" is raw and extremely undercooked. At this point you must know that this is essentially just a blank concept post, not an IC. The kitting is a joke and the novelties leave a lot to be desired. There are no renders, and given that you stated you intend on buying KRK, you're aware of these issues. Your concept image should have been posted in a discord chat rather than on geekhack, but here we are.
On the idea itself, it's interesting but half-baked. The most interesting thing about the concept is the altered alphas, and honestly the set would be more interesting as "black hole" or "wormhole" concept.
As others have pointed out, unless you are really, really intent on having GMK manufacture this, I recommend going the dyesub route. It will allow you to do more detailed novelties and edit more of the legends without the exorbitant cost of new molds. For example, your current concept has only the alphas being altered by the "gravity well." Why not the mods and other keys? Could you create custom mods that better fit the theme? There's a lot further you can go to push this idea to its logical conclusion. Personally, going with GMK and going for only new molds on the alphas feels like a waste of a decent idea. And to address your other comment OP, dyesub is not the same as pad printing.
I recommend that you take some feedback from this "IC," buy KRK, and get some feedback from other designers in some of the discord communities. I know I've been pretty mean in this comment, but consider it tough love. Feel free to reach out on discord, I'm happy to help.
I bought KRK this morning and have been working on the actual kit. It looks more like an actual IC. I promise to update at least the base set with a proper kit tonight.Please don't rush to update this post asap. Allow yourself to fully cook a meal before updating/posting a new IC thread. Posting a standardized KRK base kit render overnight won't change much. This is why I said you should go into discord and get feedback from other designers. It's important to take your time and let ideas marinate, rather than rushing to make constant small updates.
I'm reworking the novelties but because of the idea of going GMK I didn't want to mod more than I felt was necessary to get the design I wanted. Being my first IC and all I don't know how much this many molds will bump cost. If it's crazy I'll abandon GMK. It was my first choice but I'm not married to it.
I bought KRK this morning and have been working on the actual kit. It looks more like an actual IC. I promise to update at least the base set with a proper kit tonight.Please don't rush to update this post asap. Allow yourself to fully cook a meal before updating/posting a new IC thread. Posting a standardized KRK base kit render overnight won't change much. This is why I said you should go into discord and get feedback from other designers. It's important to take your time and let ideas marinate, rather than rushing to make constant small updates.
I'm reworking the novelties but because of the idea of going GMK I didn't want to mod more than I felt was necessary to get the design I wanted. Being my first IC and all I don't know how much this many molds will bump cost. If it's crazy I'll abandon GMK. It was my first choice but I'm not married to it.
IIRC for new molds for GMK it's $150/mold if you want it to be exclusive, $75/mold if the molds are open to other designers to use (assumes prices have not increased in the last couple years). That's about $3,000 if the design is public and it's just for alphas, not including numbers, mods, novelties, etc. That's either an upfront cost or will be baked into the kit cost - either way, since you'll likely be running at 250 MOQ, it will make your base kit noticeably more expensive. In today's market, that may be a meaningful barrier. Again, it's doable, but will limit your design choices considerably.
Definitely needs work on kitting, but the core idea (colors and alphas) is very nice. Will there be any collabs? GLWIC!
Really love this concept and wishing you all the luck in finding out how to make it come to life. I would love to follow your progress if you plan on posting it anywhere. I've thought about getting into designing myself but haven't dedicated time or mental resources to it yet. But I am really psyched for this idea.Updates here will be sporadic. If there's anything big I'll update the post but ideally I'll be running a proper IC in the future with kits, color ways, and support.
I really like this idea and find it fun. I do think that you should lean more into the gravity well idea, and have the legends become distorted and not just angled. Almost like they're being sucked in.Appreciate it! That is a design I've been playing with. I figured if just offsetting the legends requires a new mold, might as well go for broke :D.
The discord link seems expired, i should have some ideas for a cableShould be fixed now, sorry about that.
or something like red on black, because the accretion disk around a black hole may appear red due to the color of the starI did have a red/orange variant but it wasn't favorable to most. The preference is for the purple layout.
I'm not sure why everyone is raising concerns over new molds when it's something GMK regularly does without problems. A set with custom alpha legends, Chaos Theory, literally shipped a few weeks ago and it's a similar idea to this.
I'm not sure why everyone is raising concerns over new molds when it's something GMK regularly does without problems. A set with custom alpha legends, Chaos Theory, literally shipped a few weeks ago and it's a similar idea to this.
The hobby is no where near the state of when chaos theory ran. Even the most basic sets with good kitting and low prices are concerned with hitting MOQ these days.
imo i think the alpha legends all being the same color would be better. or maybe having them be a gradient outward from the "G", somewhat similar to the darker alpha legends, but having "R, D, C, U, J, N" be the next color, etc. cool idea tho!
OP if you want some feedback regardless of logistics, I would say that the set needs to be more cohesive. The idea is great, but personally I think it looks not so good. Distorting the legends instead of outright tilting them would be nice. Think about how event horizons stretch things out due to the gradient in the gravitational field (maybe not too stretched though). The other thing is the colors. The theme for the colors is certainly there, but they just don't look right together. Maybe pick a color and have a slight gradient change in either the legends or the base (but probably not both) as you move closer to the gravity well. One last thing I would say is to work on the novelty legends. They're not awful or anything, but I wouldn't call them great. That's okay though, since everyone needs to start from somewhere. Keep at it and I think you can make something nice, even if it has to be done with dye-sub PBT.
...I really like the horizon kit so I think that should be in the base kit. I also think it'd be cool to see the alpha keys most immediately around the black hole (F T Y H B V) being even more stretched or manipulated to the point of being unrecognizable...
I really like the idea of having alt kitting for different color options for the distorted legends. Would love to see something with some pink maybe.
I can't tell if this will look amazing on a split board, or it wont work at all. It might need a horizontal G; otherwise it wont look like the gravity well is between the boards, but on the left hand instead(https://i.imgur.com/B6ncWfY.png)
I can't tell if this will look amazing on a split board, or it wont work at all. It might need a horizontal G; otherwise it wont look like the gravity well is between the boards, but on the left hand insteadShow Image(https://i.imgur.com/B6ncWfY.png)
It kind of works.
Just noticed that 40s kit looks like it supports more than Van-style layout.
Doesn't it need an R2 1U backspace for the other keys to work?
I can't tell if this will look amazing on a split board, or it wont work at all. It might need a horizontal G; otherwise it wont look like the gravity well is between the boards, but on the left hand instead