forum badge -- few days
signed weapons -- few weeks
unusual raffle -- during our next big NA cast
t-shirt -- few weeks
cards -- few weeks

if you donated to have physical copies of stuff signed ($225+), expect those ~1-2 weeks after i52

I prefer the FK1 mainly because it's slightly bigger. I never had any problem with the original sensor so from my end the sensors feel the same.

It's a different mouse that promotes a different grip. The 518 is a fantastic mouse and if you're comfortable with it by all means buy another.

iirc justin did this for the quakecon stream a couple years back

slightly less, though not as loose as most other mice's

the scroll wheel now has 24 notches up from the previous 16

I've used the abyssus for a few seasons and stopped for two reasons:

1) the mouse1 broke within a few months consistently
2) the coating on the mirror edition is super glossy and attracts fingerprints/sweat like none other

if you're wondering why I only used the mirror edition, it's because the normal version for some reason used a different sensor that had an obscenely high lift-off-distance and a lot of jitter of my cloth pad

they've recently released a 2014 abyssus that I've yet to try though

I promised a review in the other FK1 thread thread, so here it is.

Alberto (tomahawk) from ZOWIE was kind enough to offer me an early FK1 to review a few weeks before the official press release, but some unfortunate Skype mishaps led me to miss the message. Perhaps next time we'll get a true first peek here on TFTV.

The FK1 is the third iteration of ZOWIE's flagship ambidextrous mouse after the FK 2014 and the original, yellow-based FK. It differs from its predecessors in a few tweaks in build, but also features a brand new sensor in the Avago 3310. It's still essentially the same mouse, but fixes some issues users had with previous versions.

What's different?
The major difference is the form of the FK: it's slightly bigger (though noticeably) but also a tad heavier. The bigger size should be an improvement for most, as the old FK definitely felt a bit too small even for my smallish hands.

Comparison (side view)
Comparison (bottom view)
Side-by-side with my WMO and DA 2013

The new 3310 sensor allows ZOWIE to ditch the old custom lens but still retain the signature low lift-off-distance that FK users are accustomed to. With it the FK1 also moves away from the interpolated (and slightly off) 450/1150/2300 DPI levels to the new 400/800/1600/3200 stepping. Although I've never found DPI to transfer between sensors perfectly, the old FK seemed pretty far off in this regard, making it harder than it needed to be to simply convert from one sens/DPI to another. The sensor in the FK1 no longer seems to have this problem.

The FK1's 3310 passes the usual criteria for a good sensor: no jitter at slow speeds/weird angles, no skipping during fast swipes, and no discernible accel (for more technical confirmation, check out Ino's review on the overlock forums).

I've tested it in extensively in TF2/QL the past few days on a range of sensitivities (6-13"/360) and a variety of mousepads (QcK, Icemat, Talent, Goliatus) and it's performed flawlessly under every condition.

The FK1 also has a rougher matte, slightly textured finish that's much more resistant to oil and sweat buildup. It was a pretty gross problem that even people with the cleanest of hands could not avoid, so I'm glad that issue's been remedied here.

Closeup

What's the same?
Since I've never actually done a proper FK review, I'll go ahead and detail some stand out features of the FK.

I'ts still driverless.
... and thank god. Especially as someone who plays at LANs semi-frequently, it's a relief not to have to deal with the bloated 50mb+ Logitech software suite or the now cloud-based Razer Synapse when all I want to do is change the god damn DPI on the mouse.

It has a very distinctive 'click'.
Like all ZOWIE mice, all versions of the FK also use Huano switches. Love it or hate it, it'll take some adjusting if you're accustomed to Omron's like I am. I'm personally not a fan of the stiffer switches, and it's the only real detractor of the mouse for me.

It uses a rubber instead of braided cord.
I never understood the braided mouse cord craze. At its best implementation it was tolerable, and at its worst it was annoying as hell. Most are prone to fraying easily and are awkward to force into the right position. In the Steelseries Kana's case, the stiff braided cord in conjunction with the feather-light mouse made the Kana as a whole unusable.

Thankfully, ZOWIE's stuck with the tried-and-true rubber cord that's light, flexible, and does what it's supposed to do: get out of the way.

It retains its same shape
I've always found ambidextrous mice to be more comfortable than ergonomic mice like the 3.0 or DA -- partly because I have smaller hands than most, and partly because I don't fully palm my mice.

The FK allows me to very comfortably grip it with my thumb, ring finger, and pinky while still giving my palm a place to rest. Both sides are slightly indented below the side buttons to help.

The Verdict
The FK1 avoids the pitfalls of most "gamer" mice and sticks to the essentials. No gimicks, no frills, it's a mouse that's built properly and functions properly.

If you're in the market for a new ambidextrous mouse or currently own an FK but are bothered by the issues listed, give the FK1 some serious consideration.

Bonus -- here's an album of pictures (excuse my horrible photography):

http://imgur.com/a/eXPNI#0
In the comparison pictures, the original FK is on the left and the new FK1 is on the right.

processing now

the coating on the FK1 is definitely an improvement over the original in that regard

i'll be posting a full-fledged review in the coming days

jesus christ blink you've had like 10 threads locked for asking for pirated shit

eventually

sorry for the delay -- look for them in the next few days

they'll be used to cover the material/shipping costs of the perks

once those are covered overflow will go to players

another set

uverse is interleaved so you're getting to get a guaranteed extra 20-30 ms everywhere

hey guys

i'd like to apologize on behalf of all us -- it was really miscommunication between parties

ESEA had no problem waiting until STV was fixed but we started the game under the impression that the issue was resolved

we'll wait and make sure STV is good to go for the next game

you can find the first half here:

http://sizzlingstv.s3.amazonaws.com/stv/237493.zip

the second half didn't save for some reason