Let's talk colors!


Thepinkgamer, I think something like this was discussed a few different times. The problem is there is no universal button color scheme, so one would need to be picked which means colors (or markings, such as ABXY) are wrong for anything that doesn't use them in that order. It isn't as simple as changing things around in the emulator or game because some of us are used to the controls in specific games matching the default for that console, or because changing things around to match what is displayed is not optimal (or possible, as with N64 and other controllers that do things different).

Looking at my dummy main board it looks like there are LEDs near each of those buttons. It still may not be feasible due to the lengths that have been gone to so as to ensure equal lighting across the keymat (white under the mat, silicone designed to direct light to keytops, bossible reflective layer under paint on top of keymat). I am pretty sure there would be a lot of bleeding between individual buttons/LEDs. Also, since it wasn't planned it would mean more waiting for another revision of the board to get RGB LEDs added and everything tested again.

The best bet for something like Super Magnetic Neo is just to remember what color each button should be (look at the screen, not your hands :p (looking at hands is something I still do far too often when typing)).


That clear case is really nice looking. I still think light bleeding out is not worth it, but it is a beauty. Now I am going to admire the pics for the next hour.
I know, one could just color the buttons themself.
 
I know this is just a case proof and not the final finish, but holy cow the clear Pyra looks way better than I ever expected. So exciting.

Looking forward to seeing the LED backlit keyboard in a clear case so we can get some concrete information about light bleed.

Can't wait to get my hands on one of these things, no matter what colour it is.
 
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From ED from twitter :)

Leave this thread at once ! This thread is about people requesting flashy colour renders, others saying that everything else than black would be horrible, but NOT about anything related to the actual Pyra.
 
Think it's to late to change that now but there is probably not that big demand for it anyways. Just a thought I had.

The transparent plastic caps of each action button could be replaced with coloured (semi) transparent ones, should be an compared simple task afterwards. No need for colour LEDs then. ;)

Very nice case castings so far, very clean looking. I really want to feel that material and surface. ED may check now if there are any sharp edges left, especialy on the front side, the groove border that surrounds SD slits and the volume wheel. Always annoyed me on the Pandora.
 
The Display Case and the other parts (Shoulderbuttons, batteriecover, Stylus, Lid, etc...).. are still in greece..
ED mentioned that the bottompart was the first to finish.. (if i remember correktly)
Looks good so far, i would like to see a complett set..

Would it be possible to just use the printed parts to complete the set??
 
Did Bosbeetle delete his post? Peculiar. Edit: Nope, it was just on the previous page already.

Anyway, I was slightly suprised by that black shadow surrounding the keys and around the analogue nubs, but then I remembered that the underside of the case top has a black layer then a white layer to reflect more light while stopping any light leaking where it's not meant to. Hopefully soon they can get the board powered up and we can all see how that works!
 
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The transparent plastic caps of each action button could be replaced with coloured (semi) transparent ones, should be an compared simple task afterwards. No need for colour LEDs then. ;)

Except for that every single color means another print layer means additional costs per keymat.
 
Except that Fusion_Power was talking colouring the plastic caps on top of each key, not colour printing on the keymat itself.

Which would things even more costly, as plastic color is more expensive than normal color :D
 
I dunno, CD manufacturers always seem to have managed it.

Not to mention, making all the different buttons out of differently tinted plastic would mean separate moulds for them all.
 
I dunno, CD manufacturers always seem to have managed it.

CD manufacturers?
Where are they using different colored plastics in one CD?

Not to mention, making all the different buttons out of differently tinted plastic would mean separate moulds for them all.

No, it would be enough to do production runs with one color each.

I will take this as confirmation that the transparent case will cost less than any of the colored ones. Thank you very much.

Transparent is a color as well :)
You order plastic pellets premixed with everything you need (special effects, color, anti-scratch-coating, etc.) from the manufacturer and they will produce that according to your wishes.

If you want four different colors, you need four different plastic orders.

The color itself is not what's expensive, but you have a certain minimum amount (i.e. 250 kg).
Now imagine how much 250kg is in terms of these small buttons :)

Some materials (like transparent or standard colors) can be gotten in lower quantities, but anything custom has higher MOQ.
 
It is indeed possible to produce red, blue, yellow and green cases so that you can have 4-color buttons, but order quantity would be stupid low. Even if we could order only the keyboard-mould runs, it would mean thousands of spare green keyboards that nobody wants.
And colored keys would not look professional anyway.
 
Except for that every single color means another print layer means additional costs per keymat.

Which would things even more costly, as plastic color is more expensive than normal color :D

Sure it's more expensive if done from the factory-side, but I thought only onto some "after market" replacements somewhere in the future. Tinkering users should have no trouble to replace the transparent ABXY caps with their own tinted ones, maybe with 3D printing or whatever. Or using semi-transparent colour (model making) to paint these caps (from the inside of course). It was more about that this is possible and compared easy to do by the users if wanted. ;)
 
Does anyone know how big the Pyra keys are?.

The keytops seem to be about 8mm x 5mm , however, does anyone know exactly what they really are?
 
CD manufacturers?
Where are they using different colored plastics in one CD?
I was responding to Kingu and his expressing that it was hard to paint plastics. CD labels are printed on to a polycarbonate base. Perhaps the same type of technique is used to print the layers on the underside of the keyboard area?
 
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