So you're doing the intel fork? The few story missions I've done since the fork (and it may be just one) involved rescuing captives. I can't even remember if that succeeded, ISTR they all died but I still finished the mission (wtf?).
I'm playing on "normal" difficulty which, apart from some significant new aspects I haven't completely mastered, is a notch below the difficulty of FC3+Ziggy's Mod (reduces stealth, and takes away enemy tagging, seeing through walls and such).
The exploring element is in many ways the best part of the game (IMO), and now I've got the 'swing' of it, I'm really liking the grappling hook. I also like stumbling on hidden caves in random locations.
EDITED: 4 Dec 2018 15:20 by DSMITHHFX