BOOM Help Home

# Factor Software FAQ

Last revised: September 7, 2011

Dear user,
the file you are about to read is intended to be the primary source of information about Factor Software, its products and the people who made them; its purpose is to answer to the most common questions raised by the users (FAQ stays for "Frequently Asked Questions"). If you have any questions about Factor Software and its products, please check if it's not already answered in this FAQ before contacting me. Thank you.

## Contents

This FAQ file currently answers the following questions:

- Who is Factor Software?
- What products are currently available from Factor Software?
- Where can I find the latest versions of Factor's products?
- I don't have Internet access. Can you send me a disk with your Shareware programs?
- Why Shareware?
- How do I pay for your programs?
- I sent my registration several weeks ago and never received a reply. What's the matter?
- I received my registration code for one of your programs but it doesn't work. Can you help?
- How do I contact you?
- What about privacy?
- I don't have a Mac. Can you please make <name of the game> for PC?

## Frequently Asked Questions

Q - Who is Factor Software?
A - Factor Software is in fact a single person, i.e., me, Federico Filipponi. I am a 47 years old Mac programmer living in Rome, Italy. The name Factor Software doesn't refer to any existing company: I just use it as a nickname since 1986.
I entered the Macintosh Shareware market in 1994, when the first version of MyEyes (see next question) was released to the public. Previously, I was making silly games using Basic on my first home computer, a MSX 1 (does someone out there know what I'm talking about?). Then, the name Factor Software appeared on a DEC MicroVAX II, where I programmed scientific procedures using Fortran (that was my real job!). In the early '90s I started programming on a Macintosh (a Mac SE) using Turbo Pascal first and subsequently THINK Pascal. In 1995 I switched to CodeWarrior (you know, real men use CodeWarrior ;-). Well, in fact in 2010 I started using Apple's Xcode but this does not mean I'm not a "real man" anymore :-D.

top

Q - What products are currently available from Factor Software?
A - Please refer to my online catalog at:

http://www.factor-software.com/games.php

A brief description of my current games and other software products follows; please refer to my online catalog for up-to-date information.

BOOM - An arcade game in the grand tradition, bringing the playability and feel of the glorious 8-bit consoles on the Macintosh.
It can be described as “Bomberman meets Doom”. Actually, I took the basic Bomberman idea and dropped it in a “Super-Deformed Doom” scenario (whatever this means).
As a space trooper your mission is to penetrate 8 alien infested areas, each one divided in 10 sub-zones, eliminate all enemies using your bombs and finally kick the Big Alien Boss back to where he came from.
BOOM's main features are:

- Smooth sprite based animations
- 8 different soundtracks and multi-channel sound effects
- Simultaneous two players action
- 80 different levels
- 10 different enemy characters varying in intelligence and weaponry
- Mid-game monsters and a final Super Boss

Current version: 2.0.5
System requirements: Mac OS X 10.5 Leopard or later, Universal Binary
Shareware fee: $9.95 (single user license)

Germs - A game by Mike Weyandt and Factor Software. It combines quick thinking with even quicker reflexes as players manipulate scads of colorful, killer pathogens in order to neutralize a biological threat and save humanity.
The gameplay is quite simple, relying at its core on the "pick pieces up and place them on the gameboard" model used in several games such as MacPipes. In Germs, the player picks up germ sprites from a "culture dish" and arranges them on the gameboard in patterns of the same color to make them disappear.
Germs' main features are:

- Gorgeous artwork in thousands of colors
- Six different animated germs-some cute, some nasty, all dangerous!
- 35 different levels of pulse-pounding puzzle action
- Beginner and Expert skill levels-choose what's right for you
- A fully-interactive tutorial to teach you the ropes
- 2 original electronic music tracks
- The ability to play your favorite mp3s as background music
- Multi-channel stereo sound effects
- Online scores

Current version: 1.3.2
System requirements: PowerPC or Intel processor, Mac OS 9.0 or later, QuickTime 5.0 or later
For Mac OS 9.x only: 16 MBytes free memory, CarbonLib 1.5 or later
Shareware fee: $9.95 (single user license)

MacPipes - Classic arcade puzzle in which you have to build a pipeline of required length connecting pipe parts within a time limit.
The first public release of this game was numbered 2.0. It sounds a bit strange, doesn't it?
Well, in fact this game has a long story behind its back.
Despite its appeal and gameplay, it is NOT a clone of Pipe Dream from LucasArts Games; it is in fact a rendition of a small Amiga game I saw in the late 80s, called Pipeline. It was so addictive that I decided to port it to my Mac (it was a Macintosh SE, one of those small machines with a black & white built-in screen, do you remember?)
I started programming it in Turbo Pascal in 1988 (I still have that proto-version floating around somewhere on my hard disk). Then the 90s arrived bringing color to the Macs. In early 1994 I produced a color version of MacPipes but didn't release it to the public until July 1995. The last classic version of the game (2.2.7) was released in early 1999.
The current version of MacPipes requires a PowerPC processor and runs on Mac OS 8.6/9.x with CarbonLib and natively on Mac OS X. Since it is a complete rewriting of the original game, I decided to add a 'X' to the name and restart version numbering from 1.0.0 (oh, by the way, the silly name it's because all Macintosh programs in the 80s were called MacThis, MacThat, MacSomething).

Current version: 1.2.8
System requirements: PowerPC or Intel processor, Mac OS 9.0 or later
For Mac OS 9.x only: 3 MBytes free memory, CarbonLib 1.5 or later
Shareware fee: $7.50 (single user license)

MyEyes - A small extension that draws on the menubar a pair of eyes constantly following the cursor movement.
Yes, I've already seen the Eyeballs INIT (I loved it!) and I must admit that it's a very old idea, but when I started working on color machines those poor, black & white peepers seemed to me a little dull. So, guess what! I added color and lived happy. Using a setup application, you can change a number of parameters affecting the appearance and the behaviour of the eyes. You can change the color of both the iris and the eyelids, the frequency of the blinking and the amount of mouse inactivity time after which the eyes must go to sleep. You can choose the eyes movement mode between normal (i.e. not focusing) or independent (chameleon-like). Finally, you can change the eyes positioning mode. You can have the eyes displayed after the last menu item in the menubar (like the old Eyeballs did), in a fixed position or on the right side of the menubar (normally, on the left of the help menu in System 7).

Current version: 2.3.5
System requirements (Classic only): 68020/030/040 or PowerPC, Mac OS 7.1 through 9.x, Color QuickDraw
Shareware fee: $10 (single user license)

Reanimator - A utility for automatically restarting all applications and background-only processes killed by another process, typically an installer or a game. It can also be used to quit all running processes and restart them later.

Current version: 2.0.7
System requirements (Classic only): 68020/030/040 or PowerPC, 64 KBytes free memory, Mac OS 7.1 through 9.x
Shareware fee: $8 (single user license)

top

Q - Where can I find the latest versions of Factor's products?
A - You can find direct links to download my shareware programs in their respective home pages on my web site.
If you have trouble in retrieving my programs feel free to e-mail me for help.

top

Q - I don't have Internet access. Can you send me a disk with your Shareware programs?
A - No. The only mean of distribution of my programs is the Internet (or, when I give permission, magazines with disks attached or CD-ROM collections). I prefer spending my spare time programming rather than packaging and mailing disks. This has by now become an iron rule, so please don't ask me to break it! You will be disappointed, even if you send extra money for postage coverage or blank disks. You've been warned!

top

Q - Why Shareware?
A - Because Shareware it's the best way of distributing home made software. Using today network facilities it's easy for a software author to make its work virtually accessible to every computer user in the world. And that's a big advantage over traditional street distribution. On the other hand, users can download the software and try it before actually buying it. Moreover, Shareware authors can keep their prices very low by eliminating all the industrial processes like marketing, packaging and promoting.

top

Q - How do I pay for your programs?
A - All my programs can be purchased from my reseller - Kagi.
Kagi accepts all major credit cards, checks and cash in a variety of currencies.
In most cases, you are allowed to purchase and unlock Factor Software products instantly, using a built-in order form. Instant purchasing is only available for single orders placed with a credit card. Please refer to the program's help for further details.
As an alternative, you can easily and safely buy Factor Software products online at my Kagi Online Order Page.
When you buy one of my products, you receive a registration code to unlock your copy of the program directly from Kagi shortly after purchase, provided that you give Kagi a vaild e-mail address. If you're not equipped with an e-mail address, you'll have to wait a bit more (usually a few weeks) for a postcard receipt.
In some cases my programs include a “Register X” application (where X stays for the actual program name) that you can use to generate a registration form to be mailed, faxed or e-mailed to Kagi.
Send the form together with your payment to:

Kagi
1442-A Walnut Street PMB #392-FF
Berkeley, California, 94709-1405
USA

For credit card payments, send the form via e-mail to <shareware@kagi.com> or by FAX to +1 510 652 6589. Checks should be made out to “Kagi”.
You can also send your payments directly to me, but I can only accept CASH (US dollars or Euro). Anything else must be sent to Kagi.
To pay for a Factor Software product with cash, print out the registration form using the Register program, put it in an envelope along with the money and send the whole thing to:

Federico Filipponi
via Carlo Del Greco, 2
00122 Lido di Ostia, Roma
ITALY

If you choose to send your payment directly to me, I will send you (via e-mail or postal mail) your unique registration code soon after receiving your fee. A $1.50 bonus for postal coverage is greatly appreciated.

Note: when sending money in an envelope make sure it is not visible from outside: wrap the bill with an opaque paper leaf (here in Italy we are used to say: trusting others is good, not trusting is better!).

top

Q - I sent my registration several weeks ago and never received a reply. What's the matter?
A - Sometimes (well, often) I receive registrations from users with faulty or bouncy e-mail addresses. In such cases my policy is to wait for the “angry customer” to call in for complaining. There were also cases in which a letter containing a registration code failed to reach the user for some reason. Should this happen, there's nothing I can do about it. So, if you already sent money for one of my programs and never received a reply, please contact me as soon as you can for your registration code. Your registration has not been lost.

top

Q - I received my registration code for one of your programs but it doesn't work. Can you help?
A - When personalizing your copy of the program, both the code and the user name must be typed EXACTLY as reported in the purchase confirmation e-mail or postcard. If you fail to do that, the registration process will not be completed successfully. If your code is rejected, first check for typing errors. Use copy & paste to avoid errors. If the problem persists, contact me for help.

top

Q - How do I contact you?
A - For any request, suggestion, bug report, etc. you can e-mail me at:

fedefil@factor-software.com (preferred)
fedefil@kagi.com

I usually don't read messages included in registration forms. If you have something to tell me please contact me separately using one of my e-mail addresses.
Support is given via e-mail only, so don't waste your time and money with paper mail or faxes.
Obviously, if you need a registration code you can send me a letter as well. My postal address is:

Federico Filipponi
via Carlo Del Greco, 2
00122 Lido di Ostia, Roma
ITALY

Don't forget to visit my Web site at the following URL:

http://www.factor-software.com/

top

Q - What about privacy?
A - Find information about privacy and credit card security on the Privacy page of my web site at:

http://www.factor-software.com/privacy.php

top

Q - I don't have a Mac. Can you please make <name of the game> for PC?
A - The short answer is: NO. The long one is: I cannot say that I will never make my products compatible with the Windows family of OSes sometime in the future, but, at present, I don't have the interest, time, knowledge and tools for doing it. So, please, don't ask. If you do, you'll receive the short answer. Sorry.

top

Thank you for reading this FAQ.

If you have further questions that you'd like to see answered here, please contact me.