Factor Software - Shareware games for the Mac OS™

Germs Version History

1.3.2 (September 2010)

• Reduced game's price to $9.95.
• Updated Help and in-game screens to reflect the new price.

1.3.1 (May 2008)

• Fixed an issue that caused the monitor color depth not being properly restored after changing the option for setting the display to thousands of colors while in full screen.
• Fixed the URL for downloading the game when a new version is available.
• Improved error handling while purchasing the game via the Kagi Registration Module.
• The KRM has been reverted to version 1.0.6 due to unsolved problems with version 1.0.7.
• Updated Help.

1.3 (January 2008)

• Improved menubar and Dock handling in full screen mode on Mac OS X 10.2 Jaguar or later (also fixed Dock icons corruption on 10.5 Leopard).
• Fixed an issue with Mac OS X 10.5 Leopard that caused the game application to not exit full screen mode when displaying Help pages.
• Improved Preferences dialog appearance on Mac OS X 10.4 Tiger or later (also fixed tab pane drawing problems on 10.5 Leopard).
• Fixed broken functionality of Application menu items "Hide Germs", "Hide Others" and "Show All".
• Updated the Kagi Registration Module (fixed issues with Mac OS X 10.5 Leopard).
• Other minor bug fixes.

1.2.9 (November 2007)

• Improved performance on Intel-based Macs.
• Improved handling of Apple Mighty Mouse scroll ball.
• Updated the Kagi Registration Module (now compatible with Mac OS X 10.5 Leopard).

1.2.8 (April 2007)

• Improved registration code verification function.
• Updated Help (also corrected a few typos).

1.2.7 (July 2006)

• Updated the Kagi Registration Module (fixed a potential crash on Mac OS X 10.3.9).
• New Factor Software logo in both game and documentation.
• Updated Help.

1.2.6 (March 2006)

• Fixed a problem with Apple Cinema Displays that caused the erroneous selection of stretched display mode when switching to fullscreen.
• Also worked around a related bug that caused occasional main window misplacement when switching to fullscreen at startup.
• Added custom icon set for saved game files.
• Updated the Kagi Registration Module.

1.2.5 (November 2005)

• Fixed a bug in the game saving function that caused occasional crashes when quitting the game.
• Fixed a bug that caused alerts shown at startup to lose focus when suspending and resuming the application, making a forced quit necessary.

1.2.4 (July 2005)

• Worked around a problem that caused the "Germs Help" menu command to fail to launch the Help Viewer on Mac OS X 10.4 (Tiger).
• Updated Help (also fixed a few typos).
• Updated the Kagi Registration Module.
• Other minor refinements.

1.2.3 (October 2004)

• Fixed a bug that caused alerts to remain inactive when resuming the application from background, making a forced quit necessary (Mac OS X 10.3 only).
• Now the game pauses when quitting. This avoids loss of bonus points if player cancels the quit.
• The game now integrates the Kagi Registration Module (KRM). The KRM allows users to securely purchase the game directly from inside the application. When an order is successfully placed via the KRM, the game gets unlocked instantly! This option is available on Mac OS X 10.2 or later only.
• Changed the meaning of the terms "register" and "registration" used in the application interface. Registering now only refers to the operation of unlocking the game with a registration code. All occurrences of "Register Online..." and "Register Germs..." in dialog texts, buttons and menu items have been replaced with "Buy Germs...". "Enter Code..." has been replaced with "Register...".
• Modified text in the Shareware Reminder dialog and in some alerts to reflect the new purchasing and registering options.
• Added an alert that pops up when entering invalid registration info in the Registration dialog. This one and the "Thanks" alert behave like sheets when the Registration dialog is open (Mac OS X only).
• Added help buttons to the Shareware Reminder and Registration dialogs.
• Completely redesigned the Help Book to make it fully compatible with all Help Viewer versions.
• Updated Help and FAQ with all the details on the new purchasing and registering options.
• Other minor refinements.

1.2.2 (July 2004)

• Worked around a problem on Mac OS X 10.2.x that caused a server error ('Missing or invalid data.') while trying to upload local scores to the Online Scores System.

1.2.1 (May 2004)

• Fixed a bug (introduced in version 1.2) that caused the game to erroneously store a copy of the local high scores (expert skill only) instead of the last downloaded online scores in the preferences file.
• Updated Factor Software FAQ.

1.2 (May 2004)

• Added support for Factor Software's new online scores system (see the "Online scores" section of the built-in Help for details).
• Added network related options in the preferences dialog for automatic updates and online scores management.
• A few bug fixes and other minor improvements.
• Updated Help as usual.

1.1.2 (January 2004)

• Fixed a bug in the points sprite code, possible cause of reported crashes.
• Fixed a bug (introduced in version 1.1.1) that caused germ sprites to repeat endlessly the growing animation sequence when loading a saved game.
• Added the ability to check for the presence of updates directly from the game application. Added the "Check for Updates..." command to the application/apple menu (see Help for further info).
• Fixed a few cosmetic bugs in dialogs under Mac OS 9 and 10.3 (Panther).
• Improved system cursor handling.
• Updated Help.

1.1.1 (November 2003)

• Recompiled with SpriteWorld 3.0 final.
• The application's memory partition has been raised to 16 MBytes (this affects Mac OS 9 users only).
• Updated registration information. Factor Software is now using a faster registration system for all its products that lets you unlock your copy within minutes after purchase. Instant delivery! Instant play!
• Updated Help.

1.1 (October 2003)

• Fixed a bug that caused the game to crash during the chalkboard sequence under certain conditions.
• Fixed a bug that caused the ESC key to stop working after resuming a paused game.
• To make easier picking up germs, the hand cursor's "hot spot" (the sprite's active area) has been enlarged to include the fingertips.
• Now when the destabilizing pattern changes, the player is visually notified by a text sprite saying "new pattern".
• Added support for multi-button mice (Mac OS X only): you can now right-click or use the mouse scroll wheel to rotate the germs you are holding.
• Now valid audio files are also identified using their internal file types (four character codes). The ".snd" extension is no longer supported. See the documentation for the current list of recognized types and extensions.
• Added a welcome dialog inviting first time players to use the tutorial and read the documentation (it only shows up the first time you launch the game).
• The "Exit" button position in the tutorial has been shifted horizontally to the vertical center of the play area.
• The "Exit" menu item of the Game menu now changes to "Abort" during a game.
• The set of levels freely playable in the unregistered version has been reduced to the first five plus one, randomly selected among higher levels.
• The game has been recompiled with the latest release of the SpriteWorld animation library (3.0b2). This update contains several code improvements.
• Added an "Acknowledgements" section to the documentation.

1.0.0 (July 2003)

• First public release.