[GB] KAT Lich - Shipping from NovelKeys and MyKeyboard!

[crash822]

Have extras give on sale yet? Saw the shop date is September so I'm hoping I can still pick up this set

[eskimojo]

Have extras give on sale yet? Saw the shop date is September so I'm hoping I can still pick up this set

Hi there,

Extras have not gone on sale - they will do so once GB orders have shipped.

I do not have an updated shipping date - I have not asked for one as colour samples are not confirmed.

I am still waiting for the R3 samples to be shipped to me, though the pictures and feedback I've been sent are promising. I've just sent another email to confirm the current status of the samples.

Hopefully the samples will all be good and I'll be able to approve them, in which case I will ask for a new ETA and update everyone via the relevant channels.

It's worth noting that production on Lich will not commence until Eternal is completed, regardless of whether colours are confirmed (at least to my understanding).

[crash822]

Have extras give on sale yet? Saw the shop date is September so I'm hoping I can still pick up this set

Hi there,

Extras have not gone on sale - they will do so once GB orders have shipped.

I do not have an updated shipping date - I have not asked for one as colour samples are not confirmed.

I am still waiting for the R3 samples to be shipped to me, though the pictures and feedback I've been sent are promising. I've just sent another email to confirm the current status of the samples.

Hopefully the samples will all be good and I'll be able to approve them, in which case I will ask for a new ETA and update everyone via the relevant channels.

It's worth noting that production on Lich will not commence until Eternal is completed, regardless of whether colours are confirmed (at least to my understanding).

Thanks for that. Hoping I can get in on this set. My favorite of the kobosuba sets

[eskimojo]

Update: R3 Colour Samples

After a long wait, the next round of samples is in! I think Keyreative made massive progress with these, and I'll be happy to move forward with the majority of the colours.

I've contacted Keyreative again, with the following feedback:

Alphas (2085C)

(old top, new bottom)
The difference is hard to photograph, but in person the colour is noticeably lighter and less saturated. I think this is a good match for the intended colour.

Modifiers (4126C)

(old left, new right)
I previously stated that I was happy with R2's 4126C, but I believe this round's version is even better. It's a little lighter, which matches the renders better.

Main accent (2008C)

(old top, new bottom - note that the cap labelled 2008C is actually 2009C and vice versa)
I believe that the cap labelled 2009C (which is actually 2008C) is a really nice match for the intended colour. It looks marzipan in some lighting, and yellow in some others.

Secondary accent (4119C)

(old left, new right)
This is the colour I'm most conflicted about. The feedback I provided about R2 was that I felt it was too blue, not purple enough. This revision has fixed that, and it's resulted in a really nice purple.
That said, I'm worried that it's no longer dark enough - the Pantone has a nice "black-ish" quality in some lights (scroll up to the OP to see pictures of my chips). I've requested a darker revision of this colour to see if it's possible to achieve this.

I'm also a little worried that the renders of this colour are lighter and greyer than the real colour is. Ultimately this is my issue, I should have checked the renders against my Pantone chips better.
I'm leaning towards aiming towards matching the Pantone regardless, as I believe the darker colour matches the character inspiration better (Wiz's straps and bat wings), but I'm interested to see what other people think.

In summary, I'm very happy with all of the colours except the secondary accent used solely for arrows. The current revision of this colour is very nice, but I want to see if it's possible to get a better match.

I've also asked about the possibility of getting samples made with the Lich font - hopefully this is possible.

The production is still due to begin once Eternal is completed.

[NachoMist]

my cheeks hurt from goin full poggers

need this set yesterday my dude

[eskimojo]

In other news, I've created a personal Discord server for my projects! Feel free to join if you want to discuss the set, KeycapLendar, or anything else. It also allows you to sign up for Discord pings.

[eskimojo]

Update: R4 Secondary Accent Samples

After a much shorter wait, the latest revisions of the secondary accent (used for novelty arrows) are in!

As a reminder; the alphas, mods and main accent were finalised in the previous revision. The secondary accent was not, and I requested a darker variant.

Keyreative gave me two variants of varying darkness, and I think the darker of the two is exactly what I'm looking for!



I will concede that it is darker than the original provided pantone, however I believe that this colour both better represents the inspiration (Wiz's wings/straps on her cloak) and better matches the renders. Most importantly, it looks really good with the other set colours!





It has a quality I really like, where it's identifiably purple but in some lights is almost black-ish.



As you may have noticed, the latest samples have the Lich font, Signika! I think the sizing for these is perfect.

The below image should only be used for reference for the legends - it's not the final colour.


Overall, I'm really pleased with the colours we've landed on! I hope all of you will be as pleased as I am once production is completed and these ship out!

[raykcy]

Can't for for mine to come in! Keyreative said you are very sensitive to colors and indeed you are Thank you for your hard work!

[paysen]

Awesome looking set. Hope to get an extra set since I missed the GB.

[Bayonett Priest]

any updates of the set?

[eskimojo]

any updates of the set?

Afraid not. I've emailed zFrontier multiple times in the last month and have not received any response.

NovelKeys has updated their status to the following:

Expected Ship Date: Jan. 2021
Status: Based on other sets we expect this to be delayed until January 2021.

Really though, until we get a response, it's up in the air. Expect delays, and be pleasantly surprised if something different happens. 

[eskimojo]

Status update

Good news! This morning I received an update from Alex of zFrontier.

Lich should be able to ship out to vendors in mid January. Keyreative is currently finalising KAM Wraith, and Lich is in the QA and sorting stage.

I should receive some manufacturing pictures this weekend.

[Vortex_Rikers]

Great news indeed! 

[eskimojo]

Surprise update

For those who haven't seen, Keyreative have released a 2021 update regarding the status of KAT, which you can read here. I recommend reading it all - there's some promising new developments, along with some progress updates for sets in production.

Speaking of - it includes Lich production photos! This took me by surprise, since they weren't in the Chinese version of the post.

I think it looks amazing, and I'm so hyped for it to ship out to vendors (which should be very soon, according to the update).

[Tyson]

Surprise update

For those who haven't seen, Keyreative have released a 2021 update regarding the status of KAT, which you can read here. I recommend reading it all - there's some promising new developments, along with some progress updates for sets in production.

Speaking of - it includes Lich production photos! This took me by surprise, since they weren't in the Chinese version of the post.

I think it looks amazing, and I'm so hyped for it to ship out to vendors (which should be very soon, according to the update).

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I regret not getting normal mods and only alphas and ortho mods. I pray I can get an extra mod kit when extras go up!

[eskimojo]

I regret not getting normal mods and only alphas and ortho mods. I pray I can get an extra mod kit when extras go up!

A few people have said similar things to me - I hope the vendors don't get stuck with too many alpha kits 

[Tekilashot]

Will the deskmat still be produced later ?

[eskimojo]

Will the deskmat still be produced later ?

I followed up with Mike from Novelkeys yesterday regarding the possibility of getting the ball rolling on deskpads. That said, I'm not too hopeful just yet as the original reason they didn't run in January last year was because we couldn't get samples before CNY. CNY is once again approaching, so this may throw a spanner in the works. I will post here (and on my Discord) if I get anywhere.

[phxrbn]

Can't wait- seems like we're getting close. Also, here's to hoping you run a v2 with a white version of the alphas- I think that would look clean.

[Bayonett Priest]

Can't wait- seems like we're getting close. Also, here's to hoping you run a v2 with a white version of the alphas- I think that would look clean.

there was KAT mono GB last year september! i only got lich mods and kat mono alphas! i dont like the kat lich alphas! maybie if they would have been in the same colour as the mods!

[Becky]

R2 when

[eskimojo]

My personal kits arrived last week, shipped by zFrontier! Pleased to report that I think the set came out looking stunning.




I sent Alex an email today, as I wanted to feedback re: a couple of QC issues and wanted an update on other vendors receiving Lich.

Hi Alex,

I received KAT Lich last week, it looks great!
The vast majority of keys have no issues, and the printing quality is very impressive.

Unfortunately I found a couple of minor QC issues with the kits. One of my mod kits was missing an accented ISO enter, and one of my numpad enters had the legend printed upside down.

Show Image

These aren't big issues in my personal usage, as I won't be using Lich on boards that need these - I just hope they're not indicators of larger issues still to be discovered.

Additionally, I think the accent yellow was made using 2009C rather than 2008C. If you recall, the last batch of samples came with a 2008C cap labelled 2009C, and a 2009C cap labelled 2008C.

Show Image

I approved the 2008C cap, which was labelled 2009C, and was lighter. The final caps I received appear a little darker than this, likely meaning they were produced in the 2009C colour instead.
With that said, I'm hesitant to say this is a big issue. The difference is very slight, and the colour still matches my vision of what the set should look like. Plenty of the renders look dark enough to match.
I'm especially hesitant if the process of creating replacements delays shipping out sets significantly, like it did with Eternal. My personal opinion is that it is not enough of an issue to necessitate replacements, and the responses I've received from fans of the set also seem to agree.

Let me know what you think!

Finally, I just thought I'd check in regarding shipping to other vendors - how is the progress on that? I'm unsure if any has been shipped to vendors yet, so having an update on that would be appreciated, along with any details to pass on to the other vendors.

Hope you're doing well.

As mentioned above, I do not believe that the different yellow is enough of an issue alone to justify replacements, especially if replacements cause the delays seen with Eternal. Truthfully I don't think a lot of buyers would have noticed the difference if I chose not to mention it here/in my Discord, but I want to be as transparent as I can in this process.

With that said, please do let me know if you have an opinion on the matter! Your thoughts are important to me 

Regarding the QC issues, my hope is that as they're both issues that could easily occur as a one off (printed upside down due to cap being placed the wrong way in the dye sub machine, ISO enter missing due to a mistake when sorting kits), they won't be as widespread as other issues seen in the past such as warping. Unfortunately I can't say that for sure until more people receive their sets.

Once I have an update regarding shipping to vendors I will be sure to let people know both here and my Discord. (Consider joining my Discord if you want more granular updates.)

[eskimojo]

As an additional mini update: I have two deskmat designs I'm still looking to get made. These are below:

Many thanks to Prkns for the excellent render template used.
I am still struggling to get a hold of Mike from NovelKeys - a proto has been ordered of the first design (as the second is essentially the same without the gold), and I will update once I know more about the possibilities of running it.

Let me know what you think of the designs! The ornate version had to be modified as using custom thread would bring up the MOQ and would be hard to find a match, and printing an edge border would be very hard. I think the inset border looks great though.

[sevenseacat]

ooooh can't wait to get my caps <3

[Vortex_Rikers]

Really glad the kits are finally shipping!
This set really seems to exceed my expectations, I'm in awe every time I see new photos, and can't wait to receive mine 

It really is unfortunate then that the QC doesn't seem to match up to the (perceived) quality of the keycaps.

Concerning the issue with the yellow, I don't really know what to say:
I personnally don't really mind the way it came out. I'd even go so far as to say it matches the purple better, despite your original vision.
But I'm heavily biased, because I made the noobie mistake to bundle this set with another that's already out, so I'd very much prefer to avoid any further delay.
Then again without having seen the result in person, this is very much a moot point.

I think the sorting and printing issues are another beast entirely.
Again speaking for myself, I could do with a numpad enter printed upside down. I scarcely use numpads, and the profile looks to be forgiving enough so that I could use the key upside down.
However, I can easily see this being a problem for other people.

As for the missing ISO enter, I would be very bummed if my set shipped without it like yours.
I guess it could always be shipped later on its own, however that would only add another delay upon an already delayed KAT set.
Seeing the overall state of KAT sets produced in late 2020/early2021, this doesn't look good (and I'm not even talking about shipping costs and environmental impact).

Here's to hoping these really are one-off issues!

--

As for the deskmats, I really don't need yet another one so I won't join in, but I think they look really great, on par with the rest of the set! 

EDIT : minor spelling mistakes

[Bayonett Priest]

looks great! sad i cant use them jet! personal preferance but the alphas im not into at all so bought only the mods and all around! the alphas i got kat BOW! i think pure white would contrast with the purple better!
and the alphas to be in small form im not into as well!

[eskimojo]

Hi guys,

Unfortunately I don't know much about the progress of shipping Lich keycaps out to vendors. I haven't had any updates from Alex recently, and it's likely that communication will be handled on a vendor level rather than via myself.

However, there is some news I can shine a light on:

Progress update: Deskmats

I've received a prototype deskmat from SwitchKey's manu, and I've taken a lot of photos here. I've tried to vary the lighting so you get a good idea of what it might look like - purple and yellow are particularly hard to reliably photograph.



To be fully transparent, this is more saturated than I originally intended. However, I'm aware that getting an exact match to the keycaps is a nigh on impossible task due to the different media, and after using the deskmat for a while, I feel it's still a good complementary fit for the set. To ensure there's no misleading renders, vendors should be using physical photos or a few adjusted renders I feel don't misrepresent the colour. I don't have a physical sample of the design without the gold, but the colours will be the same.

We're still ascertaining what the plan for sales actually is - some vendors will be stocking them to sell later (e.g. NovelKeys), and some vendors might be running a short (1-2 week) GB (and will of course have extras once their GB ships). Once I have more solid info on this, I'll be sure to update everyone.

For the UK peeps (including myself), I'm pleased to report that ProtoTypist will be joining as a UK vendor.

If you know anyone who wanted a Lich deskmat during GB and wasn't able to, please point them to this post! It's been over a year since we originally planned to run these, and I'm really sorry it's taken this long.

Please do let me know if you have any thoughts on any of the above. I hope Lich makes it out to you guys soon! 

[NachoMist]

party time

[Tyson]

JUST GOT TRACKING FOR THIS!!!!! CAN'T WAIT!!!

[eskimojo]

JUST GOT TRACKING FOR THIS!!!!! CAN'T WAIT!!!

aaaaaaaa

for those not in the know, both novelkeys and mykeyboard are now in the process of shipping lich out! 

[Bewoulve]

Just got my parcel, pretty happy with the result !

[phxrbn]

No tracking yet but NovelKeys is showing the GB as 'Completed'. So soon... I hope.

[phxrbn]

Got my set today. Got to admit, I'm a bit disappointed with the overall quality. Legends are not aligned (are a bit to the right of center) and at least half the modifiers are a different shade from the other half. Kinda lame... :/

[LexProf]

Crap, that's not good (that modifiers are different shades from each other). Others folks on the Discord server seem to not have the same problem, so maybe it is an isolated problem? What has the vendor said about it?

[eskimojo]

Got my set today. Got to admit, I'm a bit disappointed with the overall quality. Legends are not aligned (are a bit to the right of center) and at least half the modifiers are a different shade from the other half. Kinda lame... :/

That's definitely disappointing, sorry! I would recommend contacting your vendor, who will likely try and contact zFrontier/Keyreative. 

[nathanchere]

Got my set today. Got to admit, I'm a bit disappointed with the overall quality. Legends are not aligned (are a bit to the right of center) and at least half the modifiers are a different shade from the other half. Kinda lame... :/

That's really disappointing. I thought part of the delay was a big overhaul of their manufacturing / dye sub process to fix quality issues...

[Ranker2]

As an additional mini update: I have two deskmat designs I'm still looking to get made. These are below:

Show Image

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Many thanks to Prkns for the excellent render template used.
I am still struggling to get a hold of Mike from NovelKeys - a proto has been ordered of the first design (as the second is essentially the same without the gold), and I will update once I know more about the possibilities of running it.

Let me know what you think of the designs! The ornate version had to be modified as using custom thread would bring up the MOQ and would be hard to find a match, and printing an edge border would be very hard. I think the inset border looks great though.

Did the desk mat ever get run again? zFrontier has caps back in stock for this set.  Would pick this up if I can get the desk mat as well too.

[SwitchKeys]

We prototyped them for Eski but I can't recall whether they ever made it into production.

Either way if he is keen, so are we!

[tactilesbad]

As an additional mini update: I have two deskmat designs I'm still looking to get made. These are below:

Show Image

Show Image

Many thanks to Prkns for the excellent render template used.
I am still struggling to get a hold of Mike from NovelKeys - a proto has been ordered of the first design (as the second is essentially the same without the gold), and I will update once I know more about the possibilities of running it.

Let me know what you think of the designs! The ornate version had to be modified as using custom thread would bring up the MOQ and would be hard to find a match, and printing an edge border would be very hard. I think the inset border looks great though.

Did the desk mat ever get run again? zFrontier has caps back in stock for this set.  Would pick this up if I can get the desk mat as well too.

ah **** alphas are oos. why didnt they send an email update about the restock