So I've been asked to help Ducky making sense of their next special edition keyboard.
For unknown reasons they want to release a variable-switch board (switch color varies along the board). As far as I understand this is what they have in mind so far
Show Image
(http://img.ncix.com/images/104833_2.jpg)
I really can't see the rationale behind this board, but if you really had to make something like this, how would you make it?
Let me start the dance with an alternative I laid out very quickly. I'll post more in the coming days but please let's try to give a sense to this thing and it might become a real board.
Show Image
(http://i.imgur.com/IiKcqwV.jpg)
Are those MX clears or tactile greys on the letters? (on that prototype image in your second picture?)
If those are greys, then no, no, no :( Clears? Sure.
Greys are the heaviest key Cherry makes, and I could NOT even see them used for everyday typing. I think mine, and many others' hands would fall off with tactile greys on the alphanumberics :/
Now, MX Clears for letters and browns for the shift/return/control/alt, etc, that works well, but I don't think browns on the mods/pinky keys is a great idea for a limited/rare keyboard. As long as the spacebar is at least tactile (blue, green, tactile grey), that works. But something heavier than brown. But browns are just too common...as I wrote below, why not clears for the letters/numbers and milk whites!! (existing shine 69 scroll lock) for the shift/enter/caps/space?). That would be a GREAT keyboard too. Then put the tactile greys on the arrow keys so we can at least use them more :)
Personally I love the current shine 69. Greens are awesome. The shine 69 fire edition is the best keyboard I've ever used. The only thing I would probably do differently is tactile greys or MX clears on the arrow keys and reds somewhere else, lol.
some more non-sense. I mixed up some of the suggestions
Show Image
(http://i.imgur.com/TgAaOMo.jpg)
I don't like the second image.
Greens are MUCH nicer than blues. There are just too many keyboards with blues right now and blues tend to feel a bit mushy and inconsistent. But I love blues on the shift (on both of my shine 69's, the shift key has the most satisfying, loudest and most tactile blue click of any of the other blues, besides enter; I'm guessing they tested that to make sure--blues tend to be a bit inconsistent).
I think the most sense of any 'rare' edition keyboard like this, is to use rare switches on the common keys, meaning, green/blue for letters and shift (like on the current 69, it makes full sense because greens and blues have the same stem and actuation distance, and being a gamer keyboard, you want lighter actuation keys on the pinky fingers! I think MANY people forget this!!), or MX clears (or milk whites, the one currently on scroll lock on the 69 fire) for the letters, and blues (clears if you used MX milk whites for the letters, so milk whites+Clear combo) on the shift/space/enter for the pinkies, and a MX green for the space bar, with MAYBE a option of tactile grey for the space bar as an alternate idea).
I'd have to make sure that putting a heavy key like a tactile grey on space would actually make sense. That key is so heavy, I could see a lot of double taps get a bit tiring on that...
And of course, I'm assuming this would be called a "Shine 5 legendary edition." It absolutely MUST have RGB cherry MX LED's!