Software

There is software support for the Hexgears Gemini Dusk (and Dawn), but not in the traditional sense since the open-source nature of the keyboard means the community can do whatever it wants through the Github repository. What it realistically means, however, is that unless you have one of the few extremely popular such open-source keyboards, things will end up a mess if the company doesn't have its own software as well. Working with Input Club means the company software is a similar configurator as the one we saw used for the Kira, and you can download the installeron Github as well. There are no install options, which is quite ironic considering the whole nature of the software support, and it opens up the configurator seen above.

I have version 1.0.3 here, and its functionality is basically identical to the Input Club configurator once you get to the device-specific section, having clicked on it on the home page. This means the Kiibohd Controller and its wiki come in handy again, with a short section on the Hexgears Gemini in there. The URL on the note in the packaging referring you to the online manual also just takes you here, which is less of a manual and more of a walkthrough. My issue is that there are some acknowledged bugs, but nothing has been done since 2019, so this is likely not going to be updated anytime soon unless there is a newer Hexgears keyboard with a similar setup. This comes in even before the UI issues, which can easily scare off newcomers.

I was far more lenient with the Input Club Kira and its at the time pre-release version of the configurator. No excuse here, especially with support clearly not a thing anymore for this keyboard and the Hexgears configurator. Sure, COVID-19 has wrecked all sorts of schedules, but a software stack is one of the last things that requires collaborative in-person work. Functionally, things work well enough aside from the aforementioned bugs, including where the hex code for white isn't since it produces more of a reddish white. There are seven layers to program, with each layer allowing better key mapping than most drivers. This is also because the open source firmware supports far more niche keyboard layouts, which comes in handy here. Macro recording is fine as well, and you then get to the visuals aspect, where things are way more finicky.

The Wiki tries its best to explain what everything does, but a flowchart is sorely needed since this is a multi-step process. Even so, it is quite limited in what you can do with some static lighting, breathing modes, and color waves you can edit on a per-key basis and for the color of your choice. With that done, toggle on/off the effect you want, and once all the changes to function and form have been made, hit the flash button. Oh, I had to install a driver first because the verify button confirmed Windows was missing it, but once you hit flash, you will have to initiate flashing mode on the keyboard itself. Fn + Esc does the job except when it does not, and there does not seem to be a real pattern of success or failure, either. This is where that button on the PCB comes in, so you best have a thin object going through the hole in the case to push it. The on-screen warning will disappear when the keyboard is in flashing mode, and the process begins as seen in the video.

Even here, there were quite a few times where nothing seemed to change. Some of those were my own fault, not having followed every single step correctly, but a couple of times at least, it was quite frustrating when I definitely did it and seemingly nothing happened. I then dug deeper into what the animation was supposed to do, which is all available in the configurator but is again more technical than your average customer would appreciate. Turns out some of the animation effects are not what they seemed to be, so I now had the pleasure of redoing it all or giving up entirely. Based on complaints online, the software support is clearly the biggest issue with the Hexgears Gemini Dusk, and I can see why!