The keycaps are a part of this keyboard’s cost (Keebio prices a similar set that comes with Cepstrum at $52), though it’s not easy to find choc-spaced keycaps for cheap unless you 3d-print them.

The primary drivers for the cost are likely the R&D work behind the keyboard and that it’s a keywell (with more complicated assembly process).

Perhaps you could get a used one - IIRC there was a channel on MoErgo’s discord.

If you mean the thing for strafing, there was a QMK pull request, though this is now being hastily banned from just about every competitive game. If you mean hall effect switches, I’m not aware of any keywell keyboards with them - there’s just a single 58-key (Lucca 58-HE) as far as column-staggered boards go.

If the keyboard would be sitting on your office desk anyway, you could get yourself an Ergodox/Redox/ErgoDash and not worry about shedding keys for sake of portability.

The keyboard I’ve used for longest was K860 (which still works fine after 3 years and which I still like, though it is rather wide), and as for future works I’d like something between the current two keyboards being Sofle Choc (rotary encoders next to QWERTY B/N) and Redox (thumb cluster layout) with a couple tweaks to allow for closer-angled placement of the halves.

However, no such keyboard seems to currently exist, so I’d have to either find the time to design and build one myself, or commission someone to do that for me.

I think that did materialize, but was rather underwhelming?

As far as options for replicating the layout go, I think ErgoArrows would be the closest - you can get it as a kit.

If it’s more about the middle keys than the a bunch extra keys on the bottom, there are many keyboards like that - Ergodox/derivatives, Kinesis Advantage360, Moonlander, Redox, Dygma Defy, and Keyboardio Model 100 all have 2-3 keys in the middle and can be bought pre-built. ErgoDash, Ergo68, and Pinky4 can be bought as a kit.

“Key spacing” is usually the term.

I think Dao Choc BLE, city42, or the various Hillside keyboards would be the closest that you can get pre-built.