How to play old CS:CO: the right way (Windows/Mac/Linux)

There are several steps split into several messages. Click the jump button and please read through each message.

For certain instructions, please do not blindly copy and paste them one to one (1:1). Fields that are in [brackets] are fields that you have to apply.

(If you want to set up a server, please see here: https://discord.com/channels/262622023023329292/265267514940850176/1355345145809080401)

Step 1: Downloading CS:GO Legacy

There are two ways depending on ethics and space available on your computer.

Method 1: Using Steam

Go into CS2's Properties > Betas and enroll into csgo_legacy beta. (https://cdn.discordapp.com/attachments/269580643300540416/1350557048559108217/image.png?ex=67d72bc4&is=67d5da44&hm=edbf30e7d180f6b7981db85ab0daa1c6971403115cabd4f73f78e108d5b8c8d3&)
Begin downloading CS2
Wait for the download to finish

Method 2: Downloading CS:GO Legacy manifests

Download the DepotDownloader utility by SteamRE
Extract the utility into a directory of your choosing (DD will download manifests into the directory where the program is)
Open your command prompt and cd into the directory
Invoke the program by typing ./DepotDownloader (Linux/Mac) OR .\DepotDownloader[.exe] (Windows)

Also invoke the following command line flags: -app 730 -depot [depot number] -manifest [manifest id] -username [steam username] -password [password] -branch csgo_legacy (psst: use this to help you find the depot and manifest ids for csgo_legacy)
Depot 731 is where the common files are. Depots 732, 733, and 734 are binaries depending on your OS platform

Wait for the manifest to finish downloading
Create a new directory and merge all contents downloaded ([depot number] > [changelist number]) into the directory.

Step 2: Downloading and installing CS:CO 1.2.6/1.2.5c/d

Download the base and its corresponding patch
Extract the base CS:CO first and put the extracted contents into the root of the game directory
Extract the patch files next and put the extracted contents into the root of the game directory (if it asks to overwrite files, do it)
Ensure the root directory similarly matches this image: https://cdn.discordapp.com/attachments/265267514940850176/1349725087586058261/75VMs5D.png?ex=67d424f1&is=67d2d371&hm=956d3e5f8591e182a3daafb16647da5670e6219474f74a018a2026ff71c571a2&

Please do not skip this step. If you do not double check the directory, the next several steps will effectively be invalid.
NOTE: DO NOT LAUNCH CS:CO THROUGH THE PROVIDED EXECUTABLE. IT WILL NOT LAUNCH CS:CO. PROCEED TO NEXT SECTION.

ADDITIONAL SUBSTEPS FOR MAC/LINUX USERS ONLY

SKIP THIS IF YOU ARE A WINDOWS USER. YOU WILL MAKE EVERYTHING WRONG IF YOU DO.

Find gameinfo.txt in cscomod/csgo
Replace SearchPaths section with the following:

            mod+mod_write+default_write_path    |gameinfo_path|.
            Game+Mod                            |gameinfo_path|.
            Game                                |gameinfo_path|.
            game_write                          "[main steam directory or steam library directory]/steamapps/common/Counter-Strike Global Offensive/csgo"
            Game                                "[main steam directory or steam library directory]/steamapps/common/Counter-Strike Global Offensive/csgo"

Save the file.

IF YOU'RE ON WINDOWS AND YOU HAVE DONE SUBSTEPS 5-7, YOU'VE NOW DONE IT WRONG. GO BACK AND REVERT THE FILE RIGHT NOW.

Unofficial CSCO server browser:

⚠️ delete Counter-Strike Global Offensive\cscomod\csgo\steam.inf ⚠️

Else CSGO will crash because it'll refuse to load panorama