DISCLAIMER: If I've missed something and stepped way out of bounds here please let me know so I can either correct myself or remove the post. All I know is I've already wasted half a day trying to get a grasp on how this password manipulation works, and I feel like I've been down so many rabbit holes I'm starting to question whether it's even real or not.

For the record I'm only making this thread because there is an inconsistency in the information given on this forum when compared to record-holding VODs.

I've spent the last 12 hours trying to understand the correlation between the calculator that is shared on this forum with the on-the-fly calculations of speedrunners as they approach the Mayor's Password. Upon doing so, they receive the keycard to floor 65 in the Shinra Tower using the in-game timer as a reference for their modulo 4 arithmetic.

I've come to the conclusion the only correlation between these two calculations is the attempt to modulate a pattern, but the patterns do not match that of which is shared by the excel calculator in the resources section.

for example: When a runner who uses modulo 4 calculation to find a remainder and comes to the final answer of "3" the runner then associates that number with the password "KING."

when I compare the answer "3" with the mod 4 calculator provided in the resources section of this forum I recieve the answer "BOMB."

this is exceptionally misleading. to the point where I went out of my way to learn how to perform mod 4 calculations without a calculator, referring back to the few runners who also consistently calculate their answers.

first I would like to clarify a few things. (there will be a tl;dr at the end for those of you who don't care and let RNGesus take the wheel anyway)

0 = BEST 1 = BOMB 2 = MAKO 3 = KING

these are the consistent modulo calculations I have seen based on speedruns that actually check the in game timer before stepping onto the 62nd floor. Keep in mind these numbers are purely associated with the remainder post-calculation, NOT THEIR PLACEMENT ON THE PASSWORD LIST.

with these associations in mind I'd like to note the parallel's between the explanation given on this forum and the answers I've deducted through research.

in the excel formula given on this forum it shows

0 = MAKO 1 = KING 2 = BEST 3 = BOMB

I'm surprised this hasn't been brought up in the past but I'm in the process of creating my own chart with accurate calculations which I'll be posting in the next couple of days.

It's rough seeing people take random guesses costing them valuable time just to get lucky 1 out of every 4 runs (based on odds) just to finally get the first try guess at the password. There's enough RNG in this game let's try to make it easier for new runners, yeah?

tl;dr: the explanation currently on this forum regarding how modulation works for the Mayor's Password in order to achieve consistent results is accurate to only a minimal extent, and is extraordinarily misleading. I'll be posting a more new-user friendly explanation soon after testing my numbers in real time to ensure accuracy and clarity.

EDIT: I have indeed been schooled, and there are two different set of values for different versions of the game. With this in mind I will still be creating a PC specific chart listing the possibilities and explaining the math behind mod 4.

which platform?

the one in resources should be for psx and the values you listed as consistent are for PC

the idea is the same, but the values change because of different load times when entering the room

Yes, what fhelwanger said is the case. The 1st set of results you have listed are correct for the PC/PS4/Xbox/Switch versions of the game. The 2nd set of results are for the PSX version. The difference, as he said, is due to the time it takes to load to the next floor.

I am in fact using the PC version. Thank you for clearing that up, I was about to go insane.