This level from 2008-2010 seems too abstract to me. For example, Minecraft was released in 2011; is it representative of the graphics for 2011, and if not (of course not), then what is?
Or, another question: what "year of graphics" does a 2006 game (Heroes 5) with models from a 2015 game (Heroes 7) look like? Is some kind of average calculated?
In short, if I'm not being sarcastic, I don't understand what specific technologies you're missing in Heroes 5, and why you need them so much.
Added 2 minutes later
For example, in the alpha version, shadows take the alpha channel into account, and models are overlapped by shadows, but in the final version, this only happens if the alpha model has AM_OPAQUE.
What is the problem then? And considering the "quality" of the shadows in Heroes 5, is it really that important that they take the alpha channel into account?