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
Welcome to Serika’s drop page! Good day everyone! I’m Zambumon, designer of Serika. Thanks to everyone that has supported this project during the development phase and the all the people that are making this set and all the upcoming collaborations possible.
Need more layout examples? Check out the project page: https://zambumon.com/serika
Courtesy of @livingspeedbump
(Mini) Mech Keys 101: https://www.massdrop.com/buy/massdrop-x-hasbro-scrabble-mechanical-keyboard/talk/1999214
Mech Keys 101: https://www.massdrop.com/talk/2784/mechanical-keyboards-101-an-introduction-to-the-hobbyPhysical
Layouts Explained: https://www.massdrop.com/talk/947/keyboard-layouts-explained-in-detail-many-pics
Frequently Asked Questions: Q: Give me a backstory. A: In August 2016, just after The Amazing Chocolatier’s drop ended, I started working on two new sets. One of those was Nautilus, which was finished first, and the other one was an unnamed set that later became Serika. While working on Nautilus, I had something very clear: I wanted to work on a less flashy and more subtle color way but without falling into the “boring” tag. I also wanted to make a set were yellow was the main component and not just an accent (like in Chocolatier or Nautilus). For the alphas, I had obviously go for something lighter, so I opted for a white (with a tint of beige). And that’s how the colorway was decided.
Fast forward to November 2017, just before Nautilus started shipping, I started working again on the set. There were two unfinished issues: its name and the novelties. The name issue was solved quite fast. Like many others on this community I’m also interested in space exploration (Godspeed, and Yuri), so I paid an homage to the Space Brother’s manga and named the set after fictional astronaut Itou Serika. As for the novelties, unlike previous sets, I wanted to keep them simple and more abstract, so I went for something that I was already interested in: impossible geometric figures, such as the Penrose triangle. Q: How do I fill my keyboard? A: Here’s a list of kits and the layouts covered:
Core: Pok3r, Anne Pro, Nemo, Tokyo60, M60-A, Tina, Duck Viper, Zeal60, X60, E6-V2, ALF X2, Whitefox, TADA68, Magicforce 68, M65-A, Leopold FC660M, Percent Canøe, Zephyr, Uniqey C70, Drevo 84, Duck Octagon, Zephyr, Masterkeys Pro S, K-Type, Massdrop ALT, Massdrop CTRL, Ducky One TKL, Percent Skøg, TX-CP, Leopold FC980M, Cherry G80-1813, Kira, RS96, or Duck Lightsaver.
Core + Geometries: Masterkeys Pro L, Realforce RGB, Ducky One 2.
Core + 40s: GK64, ALF X2, and COD 67 (due to the 2.00U and 1.00U Shift), Planck, Minorca, Sebright, Minivan, Caravan, GK64.
Core + 40s or Core + Spacebars: split spacebar keyboards such as Banana60 or VE.A. Ergodox: Ergodox keyboards.
Q: Do these keycaps include a keyboard? A: No, this is just a drop for the keycaps. Q: Is this keyset fully compatible with the Corsair Strafe, Fnatic Gear Rush, or Razer keyboards? A: No. These keyboard have a non-standard bottom row with a 6.50U spacebar. Q: Is this keyset fully compatible with the Mistel Barocco 60%, Filco Minila, or Filco Minila Air? Can you add a 3U and 4U spacebars to the spacebars kit? A: No, these keyboards use 3.00U, 3.25U, or 4.00U spacebars and that would require GMK to make new molds for just those three boards. Q: Can I use these keycaps on my laptop/Apple keyboard? A: No. These keycaps are designed for MX switches such as Cherry MX, Gateron, Zealios, Kailh Speed Switches, Kailh Box Switches, Halo switches, Hako switches, Outemu...
Q: Is this set compatible with Novelkeys x Kailh Big Switch? A: No. That switch is 4 times bigger in each dimension. Q: Do the keys support backlighting? A: As these keycaps are made out of two different opaque plastics backlighting isn’t supported. However, you could get with them a nice underglow effect.
Q: Does Serika include a 2.00U Shift? A: Yes, 40s kit include 2.00U and 1.00U Shift for more exotic layouts. Q: Does [insert kit] include [insert keycap]? A: All kits include only the keys pictured. Non-1.00U keycaps have a label that wit their sizing.
Q: I’m concerned about the final colors, how close will they be to the renders? A: GMK and I are taking extra steps to make sure that the colors are spot on. Yellow isn’t an easy color to work with and it is extremely important for us to nail it. This is why GMK and I have been working months ahead with color samples and we have used a Pantone Formula Guide as well as a RAL Design Chart to make sure that the colors are exactly what we want. We’ll be using Pantone 116C for the yellow. This is an iconic color as it is used in The Simpsons, and Lego. You can read more about this here: https://zambumon.com/2018/03/13/serika-update-1/ and here: https://zambumon.com/2018/05/05/serika-update-4/
Q: Why is the 40s kit an add-on and not a part of the Core? A: An add-on kit allows me to get better layout coverage and many accent keys while keeping Core’s price down. Q: Are the keys ABS or PBT? A: ABS. Q: $[insert price] for ABS? No way I’m paying for that. A: There are hundreds of examples of high-quality products made in ABS that people love, such as Lego or GMK keycaps. These keycaps are not only thick, and have doubleshot legends (meaning that the legends will be sharp and will never fade) but have an excellent quality control, legend consistency and are fantastic for long typing sessions. These is what people are paying for when they get these keycaps and why many of us these are our preferred choice when building a board.
Q: Are all parts of the legend doubleshot, both the legend and the sublegend? A: Yes, all the legends are doubleshot.
Q: Could you add GMK Nautilus style ergodox keys with doubleshot legends? A: Despite of Nautilus’ hype and how great was having doubleshot legends for the first time on an Ergodox, some people were discouraged by the first tier price point and decided not to get one. For Serika, I’ve decided to make things easier and focus on affordability. This is why I have opted to add a set of alphas to the kit. Q: Does the core kit include scooped F & J keys? A: Yes, it includes both scooped and barred F & J. Q: Could you add [some key] to [some kit]? A: No, unless there’s a huge layout coverage issue with the current kits, there are no plans to modify the kits.
Q: Could you split alphas and modifiers? A: No, that’s not viable for GMK.
Q: If only this was SA! A: This set was conceived as a GMK set from the very beginning. I also prefer making a new set over re-running one, but if there’s an SA (or any other profile such as MT3) version of this set it won’t be done in the near future.
Q: NO NORDE? A: No, and there are no plans to add a NORDE kit to this set for various reasons. Firstly, there hasn’t been historically enough demand for the set, and the kit has only reached MOQ once (GMK Nautilus which had much more initial interest than Serika) and more recently GMK has been making these kits for Massdrop’s sets despite not reaching the MOQ. Secondly, it wouldn’t be compatible with Serika’s Hiragana sublegends, and not having them would break the set’s aesthetic. Additionally, we’d need to make many new legends for just this kit. This doesn’t mean that Massdrop, GMK, and me don’t care about EU customers or EU layouts, but it is very hard to justify making these kits when they are far from reaching minimum order quantities.
Q: Where happened to the Latin alphas? A: A couple weeks ago I decided to make a kit update regarding this set. With this update, I removed 3 kits: Hiragana, Dvorak, and NORDE. Soon after update #2 (https://zambumon.com/2018/03/23/serika-update-2/) was released, which added two add-ons such as Hiragana and Micons, I started to become more and more uncomfortable with the set and its kits. For every single set, and specially for the GMK ones, the base kit is the core of the set, and everyone should get it. All base kits should be as affordable as possible, which can be achieved by having the right amount of keycaps and also reaching higher order quantities. By adding those two kits I was achieving the exact opposite of what I wanted, splitting the orders between 2 options in detriment of the core kit. On top of that, I’ve been always interested in sublegends and I like them a lot as they make sets very appealing. Serika’s name is a reference to a manga (Space Brothers). However, back in 2016 having those sublegends on a GMK set wasn’t possible, and that’s why I initially stick to a more “standard” look.
Q: Could you add Latin Alphas? A: There are no plans to add the latin alphas back. The issues concerning having two sets of alphas have been explained in the previous answer.
Q: What’s the matter with Micons? A: Micons are a set of futuristic and aesthetically pleasing iconography designed by Mito to replace icon modifiers. They made their debut with Canvas XDA and have been ported to SA and Cherry profile. This kit expands Mito’s blocknet kit and adds new legends to it, easing the path for a fullsize set of Micon modifiers. Below you can see a tiny example of how Mito arrived at the CONTROL design.
Q: You should have dropped Nautilus again! A: Nautilus (my previous project) was delivered in December 2017, and in order to have Nautilus dropping today, a R2 interest check should have been started around those dates. I’m not a big fan of having a set dropping for a second or third time very closely to its previous round, and I’m a huge fan of having new sets just around the corner. To keep the Serika’s discussion tab less messy, if you’d like to have GMK Nautilus again, please go to its drop page and hit the request button: https://www.massdrop.com/buy/massdrop-x-zambumon-gmk-nautilus-custom-keycap-set
Q: What keyboards are the ones you are using on the drop page? A: Here’s a list of all the keyboard featured on the drop page:
Q: How do I order multiple kits? A: Here is a guide on how to order multiple kits:
1. When you land in the payment area, you'll find this form:
Q: Is Serika the pinnacle of keyset development? A: Although Serika is my own set, that title has been claimed by GMK Jamón (https://www.massdrop.com/vote/GMK-Jam-n-The-pinnacle-of-keycap-development) pinnacle of keyset development, god tier set, heir of Isildur, catalyzer of the positive vibes.
If you have any doubts, please feel free to ask them on the discussion tab and I’ll do my best to answer them.
I'm Oblotzky-ready!
No NORDE support? Wow bro, way to ostracise a whole continent!
Answering the important questions here.
Will this Set drop again or is there a Way to buy it somewhere else? These are the Keycaps of my Dreams. :)
Best Regards