What is SpaceFN and why you should give it a try
The SpaceFN concept - setting up your space key as a layer switch when held - is probably one of the most useful tweaks in the keyboard hobby. Let me explain how it works. My SpaceFN article on kbd.news made some rounds recently - quite surprisingly given the age of this concept. This piece you're reading is a condensed version of the full post. If you're left with unanswered questions, you'll most likely find the info you're looking for in the original write-up. On my imaginary top list of the most useful keyboard features, tweaks and hacks, SpaceFN would deserve a podium finish for sure. But what makes it so special? In short: SpaceFN is easy to implement, easy to learn, costs nothing, can be used with any keyboard, and can improve your productivity instantly. I will list its benefits below, but can state right at this point that the SpaceFN concept, setting up your space key as a layer switch when held, is clearly one of the most useful tweaks in the keyboard hobby....
Apr 30, 2024
Please refer to the link below for extra renders while I prepare a few for Planck and 40% layouts!
http://mitormk.com/legacy
Let us now if you have any issues or questions, thank you very much for the enthusiasm and support!
I hope you appreciate this drop and that the keycaps exceed all of your expectations.
Thanks
They should just spend some time here.
https://www.reddit.com/r/MechanicalKeyboards/comments/4aiyxr/more_geekhack_gbs_going_down_in_flames_featuring/
This leaves me questioning people. Perhaps one of the following is what causes them to get lack luster support Expectations: Perhaps in today's right now world they expect 24-7 customer service on the drop of a dime.
Communication: This is something I am seeing more and more of. Peoples lack of ability to communicate with others. Perhaps its all the texting people do but people seem to have issues sometimes conveying what they desire.
I am not saying Massdrop is perfect just my experiences so far... are a 180 from the massdrop hate some people seem to have. Then that brings on another question. How much of Massdrop's hate is legit and how much is it people wanting to fit in and be a part of something. The desire to be part of something can be very strong and in today's age of lighting fast technology and messaging. Its easy to feel pressured if you don't go with the popular opinion in a given circle you might run in.
Thanks for making such awesome caps!
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Base Mods of your preference
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TKL Mods of your preference
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Extra Mods of your preference
By “your preference“ I mean that you should pick between Solace and Rush (blue or pink).
Then there's novelties that include a blue enter + esc/rekt, then a green and orange option, but no pink? What if I wanted to do solace mods with pink enter/esc? I'd have to buy an entire rush mods just to do that, which seems silly itself. I could use the megaphone for a 1.75u shift, but there's no pink option as well if you're going with a rush scheme.
Then nobody seems to really care about 5.5u space bars either that's on my Choc Mini.
I keep trying to adjust things, but I always seem to need 1 or 2 keys and another $30-$40. With this kit, I need to get base + mods + TKL + extra to cover my keyboard 100%. I could replace the extras with novelties to save a few bucks as I only need the 1.75u megaphone for shift, could use 1u pulse novelties on ctrl/fn/alt. It's so close to just using the 0-9 on the numpad for F1-F10, then 2x1u novelties for F11-F12 but then I'm missing arrow keys and my del/home/pgup/pgdn keys as I can use the trash can for DEL.
The numpad included in alphas is a whole other thing. Most people who are dumping cash on mech keys have forgone numberpads for TKL or a 75% or less that has a numpad function layer.
I'm still torn on if I want in on this with GMK Laser around the corner as well. I liked GMK Laser at first, but now that I'm looking at these colors I feel GMK Laser is just too... purple... if you know what I mean? I love the novelties of GMK though, but having a cherry profile changes any bit to mix with these.
Important thing you guys perhaps didn't notice is that we have 3 different color options for Alphas and 2 different colors for Modifiers. Therefore, we have 6 possible combinations for the Numpads. How could I possibly offer 6 different standalone Numpad Kits, in order to please everyone, and make these 6 kits reach a MOQ? Since some people will want blue alphas and purple mods, other will want all cyan, etc.? I didn't want to force anyone to go with a particular scheme (although I did that for Euro users) because once again I'm giving options, I want you to be free to come up with your own colorschemes yourselves (past drops reflect this). If you wanna go clown mode and have purple alphas, cyan/pink mods, black numpad, that's possible. It's up to you, this is a custom product so you might as well make it your own. So this was the most efficient logic I managed to invent, if you guys have a better idea please let me know - but sadly the developing phase is long gone at this point.
Another thing worth mentioning is that everyone actually have an option to use a mono-legends number row. It's a clever catch if you think about it, but not ideal I admit. From what I've seen after all these years people sort of enjoy this look. Give it a try once you receive the kits, it does look unique. I know that not everyone like this and some would rather have a -$8 or so discount in the Alphas kits (if I excluded these keycaps) but then again, I wouldn't like to force anyone to go with a particular scheme. It's a shame euro users never show up though, VAT, lack of a proxy/MD euro warehouse and all that jazz make things very difficult for them. Therefore I was forced to force them the Pulse scheme (and sadly that only).
https://www.massdrop.com/buy/elemento-pbt-dcs-keycap-set
This was our first attempt and we failed miserably, after less than a week we terminated the drop. Just look at how incredibly insane some things were, horrible International kit, just a mess. Offering multi color keycap sets was always very challenging.
We've been fine tuning this logic ever since and the first time we succeeded was the DSA R1 (Sci-Fi) , then Pulse R2 with the blue alphas, Overcast with over 5 different colors, Godspeed SA with the Lunar Alphas (and eventually a Cockpit kit) and then Godspeed XDA which was the most complex so far. That one was pretty difficult to crack because of the triple alphas and double mods, which is what you're seeing here but more stream lined. The Canvas project borrowed elements from this logic as well, but not that much.
Thanks a lot for all the support and enthusiasm, I received your e-mail and once the time comes I'll be featuring your picture in social media, be sure!
My issue is giving an odd 1.75u control and 1.25 shift but no 1.75u shift, which is more common? Lack of purple mods in novelty set as well would have been nice and minimal effort.
Regardless, I'm so excited to get this keycap set and can't wait to use it on my new keeb!
Or am I missing something
MiTo, I've looked everywhere for mono legends in this drop and can't find them; this was my original plan as with DSA they would be perfectly fine for a numpad (+ a 2u blank, that's always handy anyway). I don't think you need to offer EVERY option, for those of us who are just looking at numpads, just AN option. You would use keys that are already being made, so there's no extra design or prep work, bar designating a keypad numerals kit. I think that there are more of us than you'd expect, all the people with Alps or Topre based keyboards, who use a cherry numpad - for example.
I'm a big fan of your work, and realise it's a bit late in the drop to be adding kits, but I think lumping numpad numerals with the alphas is a poor choice; one that's becoming something of a pattern on MD lately.
PS. If I'm being blind and there is a mono kit, could someone please point me at it?
Many thanks!
What other 2.25 u keys are included in other kits?
Yes. > What other 2.25 u keys are included in other kits?
There are various, Extra Mods, Novelties, 40s, you can look at the renders and verify - the keycap sizes get progressively bigger.
Take Oblotzky's SA Oblivion drop that ended on 9/21 as an example. Massdrop made two updates on the last day: one very early in the morning, the second with 11 hours remaining. Neither update included the Proxy orders, which I understand were placed during the last hour. Oblotzky had shared the progress of the Proxy orders on two prior occasions in the last week of that drop, and YanboWu shared the final numbers 13 days after the drop ended; thank you @Oblotzky and @YanboWu! Below is the history of that drop to give you some idea. How similar @MiTo