Comments - Talvalin

Did you maybe install it in the CoP folder?
CoC is standalone and should be unpacked in a separate folder.
I think it still checks if CoP is installed but apart from that it does not need anything from CoP folder.

It happened to me when I switched to a higher direct-x version in the game settings. Try running it on version 9 enhanced lighting maybe.

Weel, the contract killer missions shouldn't be easy, should they?
That is a tricky one, several ways of doing it.
Go out and lure some boars and dogs back to the village, you might get lucky and your target gets moved down.
Or try and get your targets disposition high enough that they will join you either by doing missions for the targets faction or the target. If they like you enough you can get the option to travel together. Then it's just a matter of travelling to some remote location and finish the job or send the target to fight mutants/bandits until they go down.
If your target joins your squad you could even exploit the squad orders, set the target to passive and let some blind dogs at him.

If none of that works, then you just need some patience, keep doing other stuff, maybe visit a map next to your targets map. At some point almost all targets decide to leave their comfort zone and wander off.

In the future you may want to save jusrt before accepting these missions so you can reload(random location) if the target is in a very tricky position or half way around the world.

As slawr34 said, that quest is not available in this freeplay game.
You can use the debug mode to spawn it if you don't mind cheating though. (check the FAQ)

Maybe they should put this in the FAQ or in big text up top since the question has been asked many times.
And for good reason, since there are no clues to the answer in the game.
The answer is that there are no level 3 toolkits, there is only one technician in the game that can do level 3 upgrades.
If you can survive the perilous red forest you may find the old man living there, he will help you, bring lots of supplies for the trip and lots of rubles for the old man.
His expertise does not come cheap...

Since CoC is considered a modder's resource primarily, the labs have been left empty intentionally to make it easier for modders to create new quests/story. I also missed a bit of resistance underground but I do understand the reasoning, we'll just have to hope that some new addons will come along soon :)

You just need to jump out and down on the ground in the north end of the building (walk a bit east inside the building first).
Once you are there, you'll find a gap in a gate in the corner where you can continue north.
If you want to return, you should be able to spot a cement block that will form a ramp back up in the building.

Hope that helps, otherwise you can probably find some youtube video to actually see it.

In the southern end of swamps there's a farmstead (called Fisherman's village in the original Clear Sky game). Go southwest from there and just behind it you will find a hole in the barbed wire and a big path directly west to the base.

You will probably need an artifact that reduces radiation, once you have that you should be able to find your way through the building.
A good suit with high radiation protection plus some meds might also do the trick.

That sounds awesome, personally I like that the game is unpredictable!
I doubt it will stay that crowded. Leave and come back a day or two later and things will probably be different again.

The labs have been left empty for modders to fill since CoC is primarily a modder's resource and having the labs empty will make it much easier to create new quests for those areas without having to strip out lots of code.

I don't think the heli is related to any spawning troops on the ground (it is however called in by troops on the ground).

You can take them out with armor piercing rounds from most decent automatic rifles (probably need accuracy upgrades in order to not waste too much ammo), about 60-100 rounds fired at the front usually does it. Occasionally it might be worth it, especially if you plan to stay on the same map for a while. Heli might respawn if you leave the map and come back even if you were just gone very shortly so unless the heli is really bothering you and hindering your actions, I suggest leaving them alone.

It would be nice if taking one down would mean a heli free map for at least a few days.

In reality there does not seem to be much difference, they are pretty aggressive in assist mode as well, at least with mutants.
However with human enemies I think it makes some difference. They will probably ignore enemies that haven't spotted you if they are in assist mode, in aggressive mode they will most likely fire the first shot.

The keys are set by default and you can't actually change them in options (might be possible to change in some .ltx file).
Press 3 to cycle through passive/assist/agressive
4 to switch between follow/wait.
If you press 5 your squad moves to the point you are looking at.
Just fire it up, get a squad and try it, it should work like this by default.

Check out the old GSC forums, there are years of stuff around there and it's still alive to this day. Search, read some threads and ask questions, it's probably the best place to start.
Gsc-game.com

For modding Call of Chernobyl specifically you should probably check out Epic Stalker's own forum.
Epicstalker.com

Try using the command shortcuts on the numerical keypad.
If companions run off chasing something silly or start shooting at something way off in the distance, just change their behaviour to passive (use 3 to circle through states) for a little bit and they will forget all about that rat...

Just remember to change their state back when you need it, you'll get used to it. It's great not having to talk to them and making sure they don't run off and alert something you don't want or need to fight.

I think this was mentioned in an early draft of upcoming patch notes(on the old GSC forums), percentage for artifact spawn will sorted(from 17% to 50% I believe).

Regarding the upgrades I have no idea but it would be nice to order several upgrades at once.

There is a trick so you can sell some guns that are a bit more worn, any squadmates (all of them, not just the leader), scientists och hostages you have with you will happily buy guns with just 40% durability.
Especially the scientists are good since one or two spawn new for every mission and they usually have close to 6000 rubles on them.

The artifacts spawn will be sorted in the upcoming patch I believe.
After one or two patches I expect modders will start to produce several tweaks and in a while bigger mods to suit different tastes.

There are escort and rescue missions as well, but apart from that there's only the miracle machine and the brain scorcher and they really are quite bare as well.
Fleshing out the quest system will be up to modders, since this is basically a playable SDK modders resource.
Still lots of fun to be had though...

I've had all kinds of experience with the a-life.
during my first few hours I was unable to ge north of the railroad in Cordon because there was basically all out war around there. So I headed to the swamps and made it to Cordon through the other entrance.
Eventually things calmed down again, and that's just as it should be, unpredictable, sometimes calm, sometimes crazy and wild. I suppose it can happen that something spawns quite close and surprises you but just roll with it... That's the zone...

The NPCS aren't there for you, maybe they've been on a long raid just before you arrived, maybe they will leave an hour after you left. I run into groups and loners from different factions all over the place.

Regarding the amount of NPCs, as you said I've also had just 2 stalkers at the technicians place in Cordon, but leave for several days and the next time there were 10 stalkers or so. Everything changes, the zone is alive...

So, I don't really see any problems with the alife.

And also, this is really mostly a modders resource that they have made playable (Thank you very much for that!!!).
So we should probably not expect huge changes from the devs, just bugfixes. They've said as much already, and with this much work and this great result, they've earned some rest and praise! AFTER the patch ;-)

As for edits to alife, quests and so on, it will be up to other modders.

Try pressing Alt+tab to go to windows desktop and then back in the game, works every time for me.

Level 3 toolsets haven't made it to the zone at all.
But according to legend there lives an old man in Red Forest that may be able to help you with upgrades...

(Edit: this was supposed to appear as a comment to the post just below... Stupid ipad...)

There is talk about an old man living alone in Red Forest...

I have met a few zombies in various places such as:
Yantar, Wild territories, Cordon, Radar, Jupiter and probably some more places.

I had the same issue, had to revert to a save before doing that mission and then ignore that particular mission.
It's a known issue and has been reported already.

From some forum posts other people apparently have been able to complete the mission and keep going, not sure how.

There are many level one and two toolkits, some you can probably get them for everyone.
But no level 3 kits exist at all as far as I know, but the old man in Red Forest can make all upgrades without giving him toolkits.
The kits you buy you can also use yourself to repair your guns but not up to 100%.
Hope that clears it up.

You buy the toolboxes from traders, only the first two, levels are available. (not all the time, traders inventory is random every day)
For level 3 upgrades you need to find the old man i Red Forest.
The treck through the forest might be a bit dangerous though...