Metal Gear
Password cracked by mjhayes@acsu.buffalo.edu
September 5, 1997

    This is the first password that I ever began to crack, but never got very
far because I got stuck in the game and couldn't make much progress.  I
recently started the game from scratch and finished cracking the password.

    1.  There are 25 characters and a character set that consisting of 32
characters.  See the end of the file for the character set.  The value of the
first character is your rank (1..5).  Your rank also determines your starting
position.

    2.  The value of the second character is a 5-bit binary value; each of the
5 bits represents a boss.  A bit 1 means the boss has been defeated; a bit 0
means the boss is undefeated.  The five bits represent, from MSB to LSB (Most
Significant Bit to Least Significant Bit), the Steam Roller, the Tank, the
Shotgunner, the Twin Snipers, and the Machinegun Kid.

    3.  The value of the third character is also a 5-bit binary value; each of
the 5 bits representing a weapon.  A bit 1 means the weapon will appear in
your weapons menu; a bit 0 means it will not appear.  The five bits represent,
from MSB to LSB, the Machine Gun, Missiles, Plastic Explosives, Land Mines,
and the Hand Gun.

    4.  The values of characters 4..6 are 5-bit binary values as well; each of
the 5 bits representing a hostage.  A bit 1 means the hostage has been rescued
and a bit 0 means that he has not been rescued.

    5.  The value of the seventh character is also a 5-bit binary value; each
of the 5 bits representing a card key.  A bit 1 means that the card key has
been obtained; a bit 0 means that it has not.  The MSB represents Card Key #5,
the LSB represents Card Key #1, and the other three are in order.

    6.  The value of the eighth character is a 5-bit binary value as well;
each of the 5 bits representing an item.  A bit 1 means that you have obtained
the item; a bit 0 means that you have not.  The five bits represent, from MSB
to LSB, the Bomb Blast Suit, Cardboard, Binoculars, Gas Mask, and Cigarettes.
        The ninth character is the same as the eighth character, but the five
items represented are, from MSB to LSB, the Flashlight, the Antidote, the
Antenna, Armor, and the Mine Detector.

    7.  The value of the tenth character MOD 16 is the number of rations in
your inventory.  I have not determined what the MSB is for, but I assume it is
a hostage.

    8.  The value of the eleventh character is your Hand Gun ammunition.  You
can have up to 255 shots, which is an 8-bit binary value.  This character
represents the 5 LSBs.  The 3 MSBs are represented elsewhere.

    9.  The value of the twelfth character is the number of Land Mines.  The
value of the thirteenth character is the number of Plastic Explosives.  The
value of the fourteenth character is the number of Missiles.  You cannot have
more than 20 of any, or your password will not work.

    10. The value of the fifteenth character is your Machine Gun ammunition.
The value of the sixteenth character is your Grenades.  Like the Hand Gun, you
can have up to 255 Machine Gun rounds and 127 Grenades.  These characters
represent the 5 LSBs.  The MSBs are represented elsewhere.

    11. The value of the seventeenth character is the number of Rockets.  You
cannot have more than 20.

    12. The 2 MSBs of the value of the eighteenth character are the 2 MSBs of
the number of Grenades.  The 3 LSBs are the 3 MSBs of the number of Machine
Gun rounds.

    13. The 3 MSBs of the value of the nineteenth character are more hostages.
The fourth bit represents an item, the Uniform, and the fifth bit represents
another item, the Goggles.

    14. The value of the twentieth character is another 5-bit binary value;
each of the 5 bits representing an item.  A bit 1 means that you have obtained
the item; a bit 0 means that you have not.  The five bits represent, from MSB
to LSB, the Oxygen Tank, the Compass, the Silencer, the Rocket Launcher, and
the Grenade Launcher.

    15. The MSB of the value of the twenty-first character means that you have
been captured.  The four LSBs are more hostages.

    16. The 2 MSBs of the value of the twenty-second character represent the
second and third MSBs of the number of Hand Gun ammunition.  The 3 LSBs are
more hostages.

    17. The 2 MSBs of the value of the twenty-third character represent two
items.  The MSB is the Iron Glove, and the second MSB is the Transmitter.  The
3 LSBs are still more hostages.

    18. The MSB of the value of the twenty-fourth character means that you
have recovered all of your weapons and items after being captured.  The second
MSB represents the MSB of your Hand Gun ammunition.  The 3 LSBs represent Card
Keys #6..8; Card Key #6 being the LSB and so on in that order.

    19. The last character is the checksum.  Its value must be (the total
values of the other characters MOD 32)+ 7.

        Here is the character set and the values representing each character.
        '1'= 0,  '2'= 1,  '3'= 2,  '4'= 3,  '5'= 4,  '6'= 5,  'A'= 6,  'B'= 7,
        'C'= 8,  'D'= 9,  'E'= 10, 'F'= 11, 'G'= 12, 'H'= 13, 'I'= 14, 'J'= 15
        'K'= 16, 'L'= 17, 'M'= 18, 'N'= 19, 'O'= 20, 'P'= 21, 'Q'= 22, 'R'= 23
        'S'= 24, 'T'= 25, 'U'= 26, 'V'= 27, 'W'= 28, 'X'= 29, 'Y'= 30, 'Z'= 31