All morning I've been exploring Chernarus trying to figure out the story behind it. I managed to make some good progress but there are still quests that I need to complete or simply are still a WIP by the creator. anyway, here it is:

I noticed on my map there was a location just marked as "-X-". 

I traveled here and met a ghillie sniper hiding in a bush. He told me all about the origins of a mining corporation- "It was established in the early 1900's in the Krasnostav region of Chernarus. during WW2 it was taken over by the defense forces and shut down. It was then turned into a supply bunker. After the war the government were pushed by poverty so they closed it down and blocked it off. Then in 1979, the apocalypse broke out and wiped out the majority of inhabitants of Chernarus leaving only a handful of survivors. 10 years later bandit gangs broke into the mine and took up residence. They installed repair robot technology that they found inside. Eventually scouts and raiding parties soon brought the virus into the bunker and everyone within was turned. It is told by the toughest survivors that have scouted the area that it is still possible if very difficult to get into the complex, but that great riches await." "you may find other survivors willing to aid you, my good friend vladimir at the hero traders would be a good place to start" 

So there was my first clue, I headed up to the Hero Traders to speak with Vladimir.

Vladimir didn't tell me much, just that he scavenges most of his supplies to trade with survivors. I noticed other people in the Hero traders who I was unable to speak with

However some I was, one of which was Supplies officer Vitaly. He is part of a group called the Rangers of the Order. He told me a bit of history behind them. "our detachment of about 50 rangers originally come from Polis which is 100km down this Blue Line in the other direction, and further 150km of railways. When we heard of what happened there, our detachment travelled far and long to come here. We cannot let the Z-virus get into Polis and the surrounding stations. 
I wasn't really sure what blue line he was talking about or what stations/railways he was talking about- maybe his English wasn't the best. 

There were a few Rangers of the Order soldiers in the Hero Traders too, they told me that they've been losing a lot of Rangers lately. Either due to the Z-virus or the terrible creatures that roam these lands. "if you're still around, we might institute a new recruiting program to bolster our ranks" 

getting back to the main story, I decided to find one of these tough survivors to help me with exploring this mine- SniperXmagic seemed to know a lot about it. He told me it was above Krasnostav in the mountains, and it sure was- 

This mine was enormous, I found the robots I was told about, as well as the factory and of course, the riches! I had to kill a lot of the inhabitants that were turned in there too.

I was told I'd need a lot of supplies including gas and generators, I think another visit to the mine is due once I obtain those supplies to see if I can discover any more story elements. 

I was told of a potato farmer named Dmitri who has essential clues. I thought back to when my group and I were building a shack and we passed a farmer, I headed back there and sure enough it was Dmitri. 

However all Dmitri told me is that he is a simple potato farmer and that he trades with survivors. He also said that he likes me and I should let him know if i want to trade.
Hmm, no clues there then, maybe I need to do something beforehand to get these clues from him. But, apparently Dmitri isn't just a normal potato farmer, he is actually a top sniper in Red Star and has a little base in the north east of Chernarus

I headed more north east and came across a formation of rocks that were usually sticking out of the ground, I got closer and found something interesting. 

And thats all I found for the main story, Dmitri seems important, maybe he will reveal that he is a top sniper soon enough. There are probably lots of things inbetween I may have missed along with just plain undiscovered people/places.

But there are many side stories. I've manged to  find a few groups of survivors dotted around, ill share their stories with you now:
First was the rangers at the hero traders, as mentioned before, It seems they may recruit players in the future.

Then I found the AAA group, when talking to one of their soldiers I was told their detachment were onboard USS Wisconsin until their survivor ship got shipwrecked. Those who survived rendezvous at what is now their camp. They are currently setting up a base of operations

I spoke to the AAA captain, Jones. He told me their expeditionary force was over 1,000 members strong! 
He also asked if I find a transmittance register, he can establish contact with mainland HQ. (I couldn't find this transmittance register, not even in the files).

Speaking to Quartermaster McManus, I was told about their HQ being in Hawaii. Their huge expedition were sent to Europe to secure more survivors and nuclear material on the USS before they were shipwrecked 

In the middle of nowhere I found a fort, it was called the Alamo. I got a lot of info from a guardsman there. 
"welcome to the alamo, its a makeshift fort but so far we have successfully defended all zombie horde attacks." 
He said they send out scouts regularly to gather supplies and that they have a farm underground where they grow food.
I asked him if they needed help and he told me about Colonel Booples who organized the retreat and led them in the first months of building the Alamo. 7 days ago he led 5 men to salvage more supplies. The last communications from him was "seems interesting, gonna check this out". That was 2 days ago. "maybe you can find our missing leader" (note, this quest was labelled as WIP). 
He also pointed me in the direction of Sarah, their shopkeeper. 

Sarah told me that they send squads to research towns and houses to find survivors. However they tend to stay away from the more densely populated areas which are more infected with the Z-virus. 

The last faction I found were the Imperium's, and holy moly....

When speaking to an infantryman I was told that he was on duty and that I'm not to interfere with the business of the Imperium. 
I asked if he needed any help and he told me to find his company commander. 

after strolling around this place I found 3 guys who weren't infantrymen. The first one I spoke to was Captain Klein, he said he is the leader of this imperium detachment headquarted at Fort Ezra. He told me If I'm interested in their cause I'm to speak with Lieutenant Karn.
 
The second person I spoke to was Imperium quartermaster Kellerman who told me if im there to trade, to keep in mind their surplus caches are minimal due to a recent war. When I asked about this war he told me he cannot reveal anything as its confidential. 
The third person I tried to talk to seemed to be broken, whenever I clicked F to talk to them, nothing happened. I suspect this is Lieutenant Karn, the person I need to speak to to advance this story. So hopefully he gets fixed soon:P 

And thats everything I have got so far! a good number of quests and places to discover, and I'm sure there's lots more that I've missed. Looking forward to advancing the story and seeing whats next to come:D I also realize most of the NPC's don't have clothing, I think this is because of the changes to the mod (developer has removed/added so many items recently) so the clothing they are supposed to wear probably aren't in the game anymore.