Support for Alternative Layouts
This is a summary of how alternative layouts have been supported by kits such as Colevrak and Homing. It is not a discussion of alt layout performance and development, but if that interests you I highly recommend starting with Pascal Getreuer’s A guide to alt keyboard layouts (why, how, which one?). It’s a concise and comprehensive overview with links to some great sites that go deeper. He also has a separate Links about keyboards page. The Keyboard layouts doc he recommends explains layout goals and metrics in detail, summarizing the alt layouts discussed here as well as more than one hundred others. Sculpted-profile The majority of custom keycap sets are sculpted-profile (Cherry, SA, MT3, KAT, etc. - more on profiles generally here) so let’s start there. Because each row has a unique keycap shape, alt layouts require a unique keycap for each legend that moves off its QWERTY row. At first there were two The Dvorak layout was patented in 1936 by August Dvorak & William L....
Apr 23, 2024
6/3 Update: Matt3o has a received his set from the production line (not samples anymore!) and has posted about them here: https://matt3o.com/susuwatari-production-prototypes-tldr-they-are-awesome/ I'll have another update to post in the next 24 hours with how things are coming along on our end. 6/5 Update: Base Kits, Blanks, Spacebars, Ortho and Ergodox are complete. Colemak, Monotone and Extras are expected to be completed on 6/10. Things slowed down because the full production of base kits took longer than expected. With manufacturing complete on 6/10, we've scheduled the keycaps to be picked up on 6/13, and then flown to our warehouse in New Jersey. Currently hoping to get this shipped out of the USA warehouse, to you, around 6/20 (assuming no further delays). Everyone has been so incredibly patient, I've lobbied internally and gotten approval to give all participants of the pre-order something special, I'm still firming up the details on exactly what but we'll be sending out an email once everything is finalized. Regarding the dozens of questions about extras... We absolutely will have extras available for sale in the near future, but our primary priority is to get the pre-orders completed, checked, and shipped. Hit the "request" button and you'll be notified when these are on sale again.
@Kevin is understandably tired of discussing colors, probably the last time I will too. But I will add, I predict a bunch of people are going to be disappointed with the alpha legends if they keep this mindset. The creamyness of the color is very likely not going to be super obvious unless you're directly comparing them to a cooler white legend. Even with the renders, the color is different depending on what screen I'm looking at it with. In addition, screens are shining light into your eyes, contrast and color are going to be stronger by nature. You want to see what the caps in the render will more realistically look like? Print out a photo of the renders on semi-gloss photo paper with a color calibrated printer and put it on your desk. Pigments/dyes on a surface is reflected light, most colors are not going to magically pop like they do on renders. Things are going to be drastically different depending on environment, your brain just naturally adjusts. Cameras also adjust, that is why white balance settings exist. As for the photos, most digital cameras outside of some medium format ones can really capture all the minute details of colors. Using a lightbox with a light colored objects is extremely hard to do especially when your trying to capture two things with completely opposite values(dark base, light legends). I know this from personal experience. This is why I think people really need to have realistic expectations. There is so much that makes this set special outside of just the colorway, but people just seem to not even care about that. If some people don't like what I'm saying I hope they do cancel their orders so people who will actually appreciate these caps, even with its flaws, can get them. Honestly the growing obsession with color matching in the community is so annoying(hence this long ass rant) and will tear down other people to express it. People are expecting metal cases to match their plastic keycaps to match the colors of their switches made of completely different plastics (and they want hi-pro cases so you won't even see the switches). I even miss the days when keycaps were hard to get. You actually needed to use effort to get something you want and not just throw money at someone, and when you finally got your caps, even if they weren't perfect, you'd still love them, because you knew you got something special.