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kohlerm
I am using a slightly modified Extend layout since a couple of years, and it was really a game changer for me.
mathfailure
Do I get it right that they have 0 (zero, nada) visualization of what the keys of the current layout would do?

If so - then it sounds even worse than learning vim arcane spells / motions and bindings.

Or are there any h/w alternatives to Optimus Maximus [0]?

[0] - https://www.artlebedev.com/optimus/maximus/

nemomarx
you could set up rgb lighting to highlight the sections pretty easily on any decent keyboard I think.
benjijay
That's a throwback! I remember being excited about the Optimus Maximus back around '06! Never heard of any actually making it out into the wild...
jon-wood
I use a similar keyboard layout, it took me a couple of weeks to get back to being able to competently type when I first started using it and now I wouldn't go back. It's not really any different to getting used to the fact that when you hold shift the 1 key inserts and exclamation mark instead, you probably don't consciously hold the shift key and then look around your keyboard trying to work out which key you need to hit.
widforss
I started using Svorak A5 (https://svorak.ahall.se/) the summer before I started college in 2016 (with the standard bindings on the numerical keys as well, so it's redundant). Since I have started using more alphabets I have modified the layout quite a lot over the years. I now have Norwegian, Icelandic and Sami characters as well. I currently bind up to four characters per key.

It's really true that the extra layers doesn't disturb at all. Some characters I don't even know where they are, but most I use daily. There are also some that are placed strategically, so that I can find them when i need them (ŋ is Ctrl+Shift+AltGr+N, the ◌̌ dead key is Ctrl+Shift+AltGr+^ and ° is Ctrl+Shift+AltGr+0).

I even created a left-handed version once (https://gist.github.com/widforss/f980baa66d4c99f94adc41b17bd...), though I never bothered to learn that one.

tagfowufe
Colemak is great, I recommend it.

The Extend Layer is layout agnostic, and a total game changer.

Give it a try, and enjoy enhanced, comfortable and fluid text editing and navigation at your fingertips.

BadCoder44
If I did not switch to chording with plover, I would try this out. I prefer chording now, but colemak was my layout of choice when I still typed a lot. Layers are more confusing for me than chords, and I find chords + phonetics to be more flexible in most cases.