In my humble opinion:
This is good but has room for improvement:
http://www.keyboard-layout-editor.com/#/layouts/1ff3bb981d48ee4f7e191742dbc49182
This is a step sideways:
http://www.keyboard-layout-editor.com/#/layouts/c32ba59bfadaadbab4a69b88ed4881b1
This is two steps backwards:
http://www.keyboard-layout-editor.com/#/layouts/e6d10b1072458a3f7d568bd437478d5b
This would be better:
http://www.keyboard-layout-editor.com/#/layouts/dab270c443a45752b52ab6aceae452d0
There has been a long debate on what to put on the 'Two extra game buttons'. Why not » and «? They're present in most code pages, They should translate easily into games for mapping.
Thoughts?
99% credit for this layout belongs to _wb_. I just tweaked it a bit.
Is this something we can get several of the keyboard designers to support?
http://www.keyboard-layout-editor.com/#/layouts/dab270c443a45752b52ab6aceae452d0
If not, what is missing?
I want to have useful keys at the extra game buttons. The game buttons should be easier to press than most other keys, so they're 'special' in a way.
« and » are not very useful, and I don't think there exist keyboards that have them as dedicated primary keys. Remember that I'm not really in favor of putting Ins/Del at the game buttons, even though Del is a very useful key, because I consider Ins to be not useful enough to 'deserve' a game button. So I think « »
certainly do not deserve such a nice position.
I'm skipping the collection of alternatives proposed there - something about having /? on the space bar just doesn't set right. Tab fits there MUCH better, and that only works well if keyboard Fn is on the left, which only works well if shoulder Fn is on the right.
I think you may be thinking in the wrong direction for the two alternative game buttons. It may be better if the don't have normal real-world use. In fact, it might be better if they don't. Let's think about just those two buttons and how they'll be used.
1. They're going to be commonly mapped into games - which in many cases have typed communications. So, those buttons can't be something that is relied on for general communication. Mapping +, -, Ins or Del to them effectively means that +, -, Ins and Del are no longer available for general communication use since they're mapped to game functions.
2. They need to be something that is easily distinguishable and recognizable, but not present on any other keys. Using + and - fails to distinguish the two game buttons from the + and - buttons embedded in the keyboard itself.
3. They need to be something that can be easily pushed into game instructions and guides. For the instances where » and « may not be present in the game's code page, >> and << could be used as easy ways to fake it.
4. If these two buttons are going to have use beyond gaming buttons, then it needs to be a relatively obscure use outside of gaming, so that they're 'loss' during gaming isn't an issue. The odds of » and « needing to be used as actual symbols in-game is relatively nil. However they can still have some use in typing additional languages - out of game use.
5. Double mapped keys are a bit of a waste. + and - need to live with = and _ respectively. Putting them on the game pad too makes little sense.
6. » and « LOOK like game keys (rapid fire, strafe right, strafe left, etc...). The fact that they have a secondary function for language support is simply a bonus.
7. If we use » and «, it gives the end user something readily identifiable that they can map to special functions, macros, etc. If those keys are a double-map of existing characters, they would loose those characters in both positions to map the activity of these two action buttons to -something else-.
Insert and Delete are 'right' because they live next to PgUp, PgDn, Home and End on a 'normal' keybaord. They're wrong for game pad functions though, because they are highly useful in typed communications - which I hope will be a thing in Pyra game capabilities. Putting them on the game pad means they're 'lost' during game play and cannot be easily 'given up' for mapping to something else by the user.
+ and - on the game pad is duplicating + and - on the keyboard (waste of keys). It adds to confusion. "Whhich + do I press?" It hurts custom mapping - mapping + to 'grenade1' would mean loosing the ability to type the symbol +.
So, instead of trying to find a very useful button to duplicate on the two 'extra' game pad keys, maybe it should be something NOT used for other normal activity, has symbols that fit in nicely, and have a bonus typing use for some people.
English Pyra users will never need to know or care that » and « have any use outside of being keys on the game pad.
Is » and « your only issue with this?
http://www.keyboard-layout-editor.com/#/layouts/dab270c443a45752b52ab6aceae452d0
Is it 'the right point' for a compromise?
This layout includes MANY inputs from MANY of the layout creators. It has more than adequate non-English language support. It works with DosBox (key pairs). Most keys have only 2 symbols printed on them, some have 3. Clutter is minimized and yet application is maximized.
If we're going to try to reach a consensus or compromise, this layout should be at the top of many of your lists.