DCS Solarized Dark
(https://i.imgur.com/7pW2JCu.png)
As someone who was a programmer for many years the IDE theme Solarized Dark has always been a favorite of mine and I am also a big fan of the feel and sound of DCS profile, so I set out to combine these two into the keyset DCS Solarized Dark. While I know that there have been Solarized Dark themed keysets in other profiles (GMK, XA, DSS) previously, I have felt that none of them quite captured the IDE themes spirit completely for me.
The Backstory
Solarized Dark is an IDE theme variant of Solarized both created by Ethan Schoonover originally for VIM. It has been ported to many IDE's over the years and features a teal base with grey text and a multitude of colors for syntax highlighting. I really wanted to create a set that when I looked down at my keyboard, made me think immediately of the IDE theme. The biggest question I had was do I use custom colors or stock colors. Now SP has a wide range of custom colors, that can get you very far, but could it get me far enough? After sitting down, comparing the IDE to the SP sample chips, tweaking, and compiling the options, and talking to Ethan about what he thought of the colors, tweaking some more, getting more feedback, I feel that using stock colors would give a pretty fair representation of the IDE theme, while also creating the parameters of the project as "Solarized Dark in DCS profile using the SP Stock Colors as the Color Palette"
Group Buy Date: 11/11 to 12/12
(https://i.imgur.com/knH75w0.jpg)
Early Bird Bonus:
At ThocKeys (and potentially some of the other vendors), we will be offering a special early bird bonus. Anyone who buys the base kit between November 11th and November 14th will get the VIM kit for free! I feel VIM is a very important part of the identity of Solarized (Dark) since that is where it was born, so to celebrate this, and because 11/11 is my birthday, I figured I would give a gift to everyone who supports this set early.
Confirmed vendors taking part: ThocKeys(Nov 11 - Nov 14), Hand Engineering (Nov 11 - Nov 14), Rectangles (Nov 11 - Nov 14), BaseKeys (Nov 11 - Nov 14), Rebult (Nov 11 - Nov 14), AlphaKeys.ca (Nov 11 - Nov 14), Keygem (Nov 11 - Nov 14) please check with your regional vendor to see if they are taking part.
Updated Interest Check as of 10/19, please fill it out Here (https://forms.gle/vPu6YmpK8MVZcxkB9)
Kitting:
:Base Kit
(https://i.imgur.com/3Qo9Rz9.jpg)
:Whitespace (Spacebars)
(https://i.imgur.com/e7mfJYF.jpg)
:Relegendables
(https://i.imgur.com/lbzfi9B.jpg)
:VIM Arrows
(https://i.imgur.com/1UGL3rf.jpg)
:Monocolor Mods
(https://i.imgur.com/1s6tsdp.jpg)
:Accents
(https://i.imgur.com/79Qix53.jpg)
:Kingsize Spacebar
(https://i.imgur.com/QKkuzW5.jpg)
:Ortho + Expanded40s
(https://i.imgur.com/QHSBO3f.jpg)
:International
(https://i.imgur.com/6n1gqse.png)
Collabs:
SolDark Tactile Switch Manufactured by Gateron
(https://i.imgur.com/sQpY5nQ.png)
Force Graph
(http://i.imgur.com/c485OCm.png) (https://imgur.com/c485OCm)
Keybee Yin Yang Metal Keycap
(https://i.imgur.com/iaVgvcC.png)
Renders(by Pwade):
Iron 165 by Smith + Rune
(https://i.imgur.com/WtoDd9C.png)
(https://i.imgur.com/Vd0HE8B.png)
(https://i.imgur.com/zodGkPz.png)
Neue by Hand Engineering
(https://i.imgur.com/7pW2JCu.png)
(https://i.imgur.com/QQd9ho8.png)
(https://i.imgur.com/lu521W4.png)
W1-AT by Geon Works - Shown With 10u Space Bar and Relegendables
(https://i.imgur.com/HKMQEV6.jpg)
(https://i.imgur.com/6AM1B0G.jpg)
(https://i.imgur.com/enZuayI.jpg)
HBCP by Hiney - Shown with Accent Kit and Relegendables
(https://i.imgur.com/wIHgxys.png)
(https://i.imgur.com/1zq9eRB.png)
(https://i.imgur.com/J0zg2GM.png)
Kitting Changes:
I have gone and made some changes to the kitting, most notably I have added some additional kits that I will detail below:
Base Kit - Changed Tab and Arrows to be left aligned. Added a 1u colored Delete. Update - Added R3 PgUP R4 PgDn and Both 1u and 1.25u Code/#! Keys (so you can pick)
Whitespace (Spacebars) Kit - Added 2x1u, 2x3u, an additional 2u. Update - Removed 6u Spacebar due to uncommon stab placement in DCS 6u
Relegendables - Expanded this quite a bit, allows for you to fill out macro columns as well as the option to fill out the entire top row of an 1800 with relegendables.
Kingsize Spacebar NEW - 10u Alpha Colored Spacebar
Ortho+Expanded 40s NEW - Smaller kit with some additional 40s as well as ortho coverage
NorDe++ Kit NEW - Has full/partial compatibility support for multiple languages, why it isn't a perfect kit by any stretch, it was done to provide coverage for German, Swiss, Etc. As well as partial coverage for Spanish (LATAM).
Monocolor Mods NEW - This was the most economic way to do a monocolor legends kit, and I am very happy with how it came out, since I am basing this set off the IDE and not the GMK set, using teal for the legends instead of the grey didn't make sense (it also would have required 30+ additional keys would would have made it completely unaffordable).
Accent Kit NEW - This is a kit added due to demand of those who want to at least partially recreate the feel of the GMK set, even though it doesn't fit the IDE theme I can understand why people like it.
VIM Kit - Unchanged
Colors:
All Stock SP Colors:
BGK
BFN
GKH
BGM
BEY
RA
YG
OAV
RDX
VAV
REK
BBQ
Vendors:
US: ThocKeys.com
UK: HandEngineering
EU: Keygem
CA: AlphaKeys
OCE: SwitchKeys
JP: Basekeys
South America(Chile): Fancy Customs
Mexico:Rheset.mx
SEA(MY): Rebult Keyboards
IN: Rectangles.store
Feel free to contact me if you are interested in being a vendor
Other:
Thanks
I wanted to say thank you first of all to Ethan Schoonover for creating the Solarized Dark theme and his feedback, time and support that he gave me on this endeavor.
Pwade, thank you for not killing me when I came to you asking you to match 11 colors for the renders and being patient with me as we tried to get them right.
Fooblitzky for the awesome DCS models that made these renders possible.
Lewis Flude for your support and enthusiasm when I shared this project as well as for the Neue model to render the set on.
The members(both current and former) of the RC discord for their support and energy while I threw various ideas at them.
James from AKB for doing absolutely nothing in regards to this project.
Thank you Capsy, you know why.
OCM, Langelandia, Urbantheiii, Jae, Quakemz, Noxygen and so many others, thanks for being positive people and for bending an ear when I want to discuss ideas or projects.
Thank you Dededecline and NoPunIn10Did for kitting assistance (especially 40s and Norde)
Many others that I am too tired to think of right now.
Contact:
If you want to get in touch with me about this project, I am on discord as Aiwanei#0001 or you can email me tim@thockeys.com
Updates:
Regional vendors have been announced, if you would like to have a vendor in your area that isn't represented, have them get in touch with me.
Group buy date has been set, will run from November 11th thru December 12th (11/11-12/12)
Added updated kitting, new IC will be coming this weekend/early next week about the updated kitting.
Finalized Kitting, updated IC has been posted.
(https://i.imgur.com/eFhuHgy.png)
sol dark so lit. One of my first keycap sets.
I have updated the kitting images as well as provided some notes on the changes. I would love to get feedback, and I will also be posting a new IC form in the next few days about these kits.
I have some feedback on the new kits. Since the new IC form isn't up yet, I'll post my thoughts here.
:Base Kit
Show Image
(https://i.imgur.com/owOmwUB.jpg)
First off, I'm glad to see that R2 1.5u Delete is gone and that you've kept some of the #! keys. 😄
Your base kit still seems to be missing R3 PgUp, R4 PgDn keys for 65% boards, though. This is bad, because 65% is a popular layout, and R3 PgUp, R4 PgDn are statistically among the most popular keys for that layout (see this breakdown (https://i.imgur.com/tKSXZLN.png)).
In theory, there are a lot more users who need these 2 keys than there are users who need the 6 keys for ISO-UK, which you chose to include after all. Details: More
According to the results (https://imgur.com/gallery/ZPRwOqR) of the last MK Megasurvey (conducted in March 2020), some 489 out of 1899 (https://i.imgur.com/wFKVLxc.png) participants, or 25.75%, said that 65% was their preferred layout. Combining this with the right column stats from QMK gives us a number of around 12.4% of all users who use R3 PgUp, R4 PgDn. Compare this to only 2.6% (https://docs.google.com/spreadsheets/d/1vyY5EjTfzo6YXp_xwQYN_ffcoB0fXdNl8nc0WDteobs/edit?usp=sharing) for ISO-UK.
Obviously, these stats aren't exact, and user preferences will have changed since March 2020, but I would argue that 65% layouts could only have grown in popularity since then due to so many new 65% boards being released during that time (both entry-level as well as high-end).
That being said, even if you keep the UK keys (which is totally cool and would be appreciated by UK buyers), it would still be great to see R3 PgUp, R4 PgDn included.
An alternative option would be to add R3 Prev, R4 Next, which are more generic alternatives that cover a few other use cases in addition to 65%. However, I'm not sure if SP has the molds for those in DCS; only SA is confirmed.
Regarding R2 1.75u Backspace, R3 1.25u Tab, R3 1.5u Enter (aka. 3-key 40s support):
The consensus in the 40% community is that including this kind of support in the base kit only makes sense for GMK sets, due to how GMK's pricing structure works. The idea is that if you include these 3 keys in base, you don't need to run a separate 40% kit (which is unlikely to meet MOQ with GMK pricing). However, with other profiles/manus, there are no benefits to having these keys in base vs the 40% kit. Therefore, you are advised to move these keys to the 40% kit.
:Whitespace (Spacebars)
Show Image
(https://i.imgur.com/ldv0D5T.jpg)
You don't need a second copy of 1u and 2u space in this kit. Those keys can be removed, keeping only one instance of each.
Generally speaking, spacekeys for 40% layouts and spacekeys for larger layouts should not be combined/mixed. It's almost always a bad idea to force 40% users to also have to buy a spacebars kit. Just put the spaces needed for 40% boards in the 40% kit. :) There are no drawbacks to doing this, especially with SP's pricing structure.
:Ortho + Expanded40s
Show Image
(https://i.imgur.com/QHSBO3f.jpg)
As previously mentioned, R2 1.75u Backspace, R3 1.25u Tab, R3 1.5u Enter should be moved from base to this kit, and the following spacekeys should be added: 2× 1u, 2× 2u, 2.25u, 2.75u.
The R3 1.25u Code key should be changed to the same grayish legend color as the other R3 keys.
Additionally, a R3 1u Code key should be added to the kit, because a lot of 40% users prefer to put something other than Tab on the left side of R3 (the aforementioned 1.25u Code is included in the kit for the same reason).
One more consideration regarding these two multipurpose keys is that you may want to use something other than Code as their legend, because you're already using Code for the OS keys in the base kit. Meta or Super could work.
:NorDe++
Show Image
(https://i.imgur.com/OdAmcbC.jpg)
This kit is missing a R3 \| key for US ISO and generic ISO support.
I also find it odd that you named this kit “NorDe+++” and included keys for Estonian, as well as Ñ (which on its own is pretty useless for covering Spanish layouts), but didn't include keys for Icelandic and Faroese, which are “truer” NorDe layouts.
:Accents
Show Image
(https://i.imgur.com/gqB934t.jpg)
This is a very minor thing, but the Esc and ISO Enter keys should be moved to the correct rows in the kit render: ISO Enter spans R2–R3, not R1–R3 as is currently shown.
:VIM Arrows
Show Image
(https://i.imgur.com/vgaWG50.jpg)
Another labeling detail. These should be R3, not R1.
I think that just about covers everything that caught my eye with the new kitting. Happy to hear your thoughts!
Edit: additional notes/suggestions
I have updated the kitting images as well as provided some notes on the changes. I would love to get feedback, and I will also be posting a new IC form in the next few days about these kits.
I have some feedback on the new kits. Since the new IC form isn't up yet, I'll post my thoughts here.
:Base Kit
Show Image
(https://i.imgur.com/owOmwUB.jpg)
First off, I'm glad to see that R2 1.5u Delete is gone and that you've kept some of the #! keys. 😄
Your base kit still seems to be missing R3 PgUp, R4 PgDn keys for 65% boards, though. This is bad, because 65% is a popular layout, and R3 PgUp, R4 PgDn are statistically among the most popular keys for that layout (see this breakdown (https://i.imgur.com/tKSXZLN.png)).
In theory, there are a lot more users who need these 2 keys than there are users who need the 6 keys for ISO-UK, which you chose to include after all. Details: More
According to the results (https://imgur.com/gallery/ZPRwOqR) of the last MK Megasurvey (conducted in March 2020), some 489 out of 1899 (https://i.imgur.com/wFKVLxc.png) participants, or 25.75%, said that 65% was their preferred layout. Combining this with the right column stats from QMK gives us a number of around 12.4% of all users who use R3 PgUp, R4 PgDn. Compare this to only 2.6% (https://docs.google.com/spreadsheets/d/1vyY5EjTfzo6YXp_xwQYN_ffcoB0fXdNl8nc0WDteobs/edit?usp=sharing) for ISO-UK.
Obviously, these stats aren't exact, and user preferences will have changed since March 2020, but I would argue that 65% layouts could only have grown in popularity since then due to so many new 65% boards being released during that time (both entry-level as well as high-end).
That being said, even if you keep the UK keys (which is totally cool and would be appreciated by UK buyers), it would still be great to see R3 PgUp, R4 PgDn included.
An alternative option would be to add R3 Prev, R4 Next, which are more generic alternatives that cover a few other use cases in addition to 65%. However, I'm not sure if SP has the molds for those in DCS; only SA is confirmed.
Regarding R2 1.75u Backspace, R3 1.25u Tab, R3 1.5u Enter (aka. 3-key 40s support):
The consensus in the 40% community is that including this kind of support in the base kit only makes sense for GMK sets, due to how GMK's pricing structure works. The idea is that if you include these 3 keys in base, you don't need to run a separate 40% kit (which is unlikely to meet MOQ with GMK pricing). However, with other profiles/manus, there are no benefits to having these keys in base vs the 40% kit. Therefore, you are advised to move these keys to the 40% kit.
:Whitespace (Spacebars)
Show Image
(https://i.imgur.com/ldv0D5T.jpg)
You don't need a second copy of 1u and 2u space in this kit. Those keys can be removed, keeping only one instance of each.
Generally speaking, spacekeys for 40% layouts and spacekeys for larger layouts should not be combined/mixed. It's almost always a bad idea to force 40% users to also have to buy a spacebars kit. Just put the spaces needed for 40% boards in the 40% kit. :) There are no drawbacks to doing this, especially with SP's pricing structure.
:Ortho + Expanded40s
Show Image
(https://i.imgur.com/QHSBO3f.jpg)
As previously mentioned, R2 1.75u Backspace, R3 1.25u Tab, R3 1.5u Enter should be moved from base to this kit, and the following spacekeys should be added: 2× 1u, 2× 2u, 2.25u, 2.75u.
The R3 1.25u Code key should be changed to the same grayish legend color as the other R3 keys.
Additionally, a R3 1u Code key should be added to the kit, because a lot of 40% users prefer to put something other than Tab on the left side of R3 (the aforementioned 1.25u Code is included in the kit for the same reason).
One more consideration regarding these two multipurpose keys is that you may want to use something other than Code as their legend, because you're already using Code for the OS keys in the base kit. Meta or Super could work.
:NorDe++
Show Image
(https://i.imgur.com/OdAmcbC.jpg)
This kit is missing a R3 \| key for US ISO and generic ISO support.
I also find it odd that you named this kit “NorDe+++” and included keys for Estonian, as well as Ñ (which on its own is pretty useless for covering Spanish layouts), but didn't include keys for Icelandic and Faroese, which are “truer” NorDe layouts.
:Accents
Show Image
(https://i.imgur.com/gqB934t.jpg)
This is a very minor thing, but the Esc and ISO Enter keys should be moved to the correct rows in the kit render: ISO Enter spans R2–R3, not R1–R3 as is currently shown.
:VIM Arrows
Show Image
(https://i.imgur.com/vgaWG50.jpg)
Another labeling detail. These should be R3, not R1.
I think that just about covers everything that caught my eye with the new kitting. Happy to hear your thoughts!
Edit: additional notes/suggestions
Fixing kitting so iso keys can be properly labeled(noticed it was incorrect in monomods kit as well). I'm also.adding in r3 pgup r4 pgdn.
Norde kit is being renamed to International, it was a hold over name from when I first started working on it and and international is more reflective of it's current status. I also was talking to members of the Mexican keyboard community and this partial support (the kit as it stands has 11 keys that are used by LATAM ISO with non-tertiary legends), goes a long way for many of them. This kit ended up being more expensive than expected, so while I wanted to extend support, I had to be a little bit creative that while not perfect, it is something.
I've been mulling it over for a while and I'm keeping 3 key 40s in base for a specific reason, and that is to provide some.basic 40s support to those who only want a base kit, the 40s/ortho kit is there to extend support, but the attempt is to be able to kit it a 40s in the base kit for those trying to save a bit. Is it the right move? Only time will tell.
I understand why you suggest moving the spacebar keys into the 40s but I don't plan on doing so, though I appreciate the suggestion.