Acknowledgements

The following modding masters contributed to the development of NVS: Zobr, Zahar, Khannik, Rommy, and samurai – their contribution to the project's development was the most significant.

I would also like to express my gratitude to:
- DreadKnight from the Heroes 5.5 global project team, for the use of some individual materials and fix-mods;
- Manulli – for some unique female character models from his “xReplacer” project;
- Xuxo for some important materials from his GEMred project and the mod itself as a source of inspiration;
- the creators of the GriffinEternal mod – for the enlarged textures of units, heroes, and other elements, which I adapted for NVS;
- Moonst@r, Kayfenok, BigOverlord – for many fixes that were included in NVS;
- for advice and support, as well as the gem and mercury models – L’Garold;
- for advice and for early posting of materials for previous versions of my project on the Heroes forum – }{0TT@6bI4;
- for creating stunning illustrations for the loading screens of all Campaigns – to my beloved wife, Sveta Nero;
- for translating materials from previous versions of NVS into English for foreign players – Anlueven;
- for participating in the testing of the pre-final version of NVS 3.0 – Denis Grigorov, Violetta Beloborodova, Vladimir Konstantinov, Semyon Sheffer, Pavel Kharin, and Slava Bogutsky.

NVS 3.0 consists of several modules (archives) that embody parts of a single whole. Of course, I realize that not all of my decisions in the mod may appeal to players, so some modules may not be used in the game. Nevertheless, I recommend that players try the game with all parts of NVS to fully immerse themselves in the updated atmosphere of their favorite Might and Magic 5. At first, it will be unusual for you, but I hope you will enjoy the experience.

And I will tell you a little about what modules are included in NVS, what they are, what decisions were made in the work on them, and what references were used.

HEROES RESTYLING - "NVS_RestylingHeroes.pak"

The texture resolution of all hero models in the mod has been doubled, with slight sharpening and a subtle noise effect added. Work has been done on the volume (shadows and light in the appropriate areas of the textures). Female hero models have been added to all Factions. The textures of all story heroes have been updated, and three additional models of this hero category have been added. I would like to express special gratitude to Manulli for the female models of the Ranger and Archmage, Zobr for the female models of the Necromancer and Rune Priest, and Roman RRR and Andrias_Bartlett for the models of Agbeta and Tieru.

UNIT RESTYLING - “NVS_RestylingUnits.pak”

The texture resolution of all original unit models (except for new imported models) in “NVS_RestylingUnits.pak” has been doubled, and careful work has been done on the sharpness, noise, and volume of some elements in the textures. As a result, their quality (clarity and sharpness) has been significantly improved. In some game Factions, the textures of the unit models have been significantly reworked based on references (concept art) from Might and Magic Heroes VI and Might and Magic Heroes VII.

OBJECTS RESTYLING – “NVS_RestylingObjects.pak”

UNIT IMPORT – “NVS_ImportUnits.pak”

The “NVS ImportUnits.pak” module was created to selectively replace the original models of some units in Heroes of Might and Magic V with models of similar units from later installments – Might and Magic Heroes VI and Might and Magic Heroes VII (including official expansions for both games). All replaced models fully adhere to the Ashan canon. The choice of models to be replaced is mainly based on my personal preferences, but they can also be supported by certain arguments and reasons in favor of such a replacement. All models have had their icons replaced to match the updated appearance of these units.

OBJECT IMPORT – “NVS_ImportObjects.pak”

My desire and goal in NVS was to move away from the old lore (which originated in Heroes of Might and Magic III, in particular) that filled Heroes of Might and Magic V, and instead incorporate elements from later projects set in Ashan, where the canon was changed and expanded.

Thus, through my project, Heroes of Might and Magic V became closer to the new, current canon. Continuity emerged, and the connection between it and Might and Magic Heroes VI, Might and Magic Heroes VII, Might and Magic X: Legacy, Might and Magic: Duel of Champions was strengthened.

However, I did not intend to completely eradicate the spirit of the old game. If you compare the number of illustrations in the album dedicated to the restyling (retexturing) of the original models and the number of illustrations in the album with imported models of objects on the adventure map, the ratio will be: 144 versus 37 objects.

In other words, there are fewer imported models of objects than original models. Nevertheless, when working on the textures of a certain part of the original models of objects on the adventure map, I was guided by solutions from Might and Magic Heroes VI and Might and Magic Heroes VII.

UPDATED LANDSCAPES – “NVS_Landscapes.pak”

The new NVS module is dedicated to changing the original landscape and environment in the game. The main references and sources of new textures were primarily Might and Magic Heroes VI, to a lesser extent materials from Might and Magic Heroes VII, as well as materials from the mod by the Spanish master Xuxo, who created the GEMs series of graphic mods (red, orange, etc.).

My respected Spanish colleague was one of the pioneers who began to radically change the original visual component of Heroes of Might and Magic V, with the exception of units and heroes. He is more interested in landscapes, environments, buildings, and other objects on the adventure map. This is a huge amount of work, multiplied by skill and desire.

It was his GEMred mod that inspired me to create my own NVS project. Initially, we collaborated, and I included his global mod in the download recommendations. However, we had different approaches to work and decision-making. And, as sad as it was, we parted ways like ships at sea.

But I am still very grateful to him for the communication, advice, and secrets.

Nevertheless, I borrowed some models created by Xuxo from GEMred 0.5.2 for NVS 3.0, and I will describe below what they were and what I did with them:
- models of oaks and birches, as well as huge trees. In them, I significantly changed the textures, brightness, and contrast of the crowns and, in general, all the foliage, so that there would be a contrast against the background of the overall landscape and the trees would not dissolve in it;
- models of flowers, bushes, mushrooms (from the grassy landscape), sunflowers, corn, and pumpkins. I slightly changed the color scheme of the plants so that there would be at least some difference from the original version from GEMred;
- a model of a garden scarecrow, the textures of which I also changed;
- texture of water (both ordinary and special);
- texture of liquid lava, which I reworked, reducing its fraction;
- tree roots in dungeons, the textures of which I also adjusted;
- the lower part of the textures of bridges.

All the other work was done entirely by me independently, without borrowing from other mods. It was difficult for me to create new landscape textures. After all, the imported textures from Might and Magic Heroes VI had to be processed and adapted to Heroes of Might and Magic V. A lot of texture mixes from the sixth part of the game were used to create each new texture for the fifth part of the game, so that they would be interesting. In subsequent games of the Heroes series, the set of textures is quite diverse, which cannot be said about the fifth game. Therefore, this creative work was necessary. And I think I succeeded.

UPDATED TOWNS – “NVS_TownInteriors.pak”

The “NVS_TownInteriors.pak” module was inspired by the work of a team of enthusiasts who are working on porting Heroes of Might and Magic V to Unreal Engine 5.

I sometimes follow their work, and I like some things, and I get inspired by others. I fully understand that I am working with an old game and an old engine, and no great miracle will happen with the use of NVS by players, but my favorite game will still shine with new colors. It will become more canonical. The lore connection with its narrative prequels, Might and Magic Heroes VI, Might and Magic Heroes VII, Might and Magic X: Legacy, Might and Magic: Duel of Champions, and other projects will be strengthened, and there will be more continuity.

I will immediately state that I am not competing with the guys who are porting Heroes of Might and Magic V to Unreal Engine 5. So, after watching their videos with the appearance of the city of the Order faction in 2025, I wanted to improve the textures of the cities of all factions except the Great Horde.

I ran most of the textures through Topaz Gigapixel, and in Photoshop, I removed artifacts, adjusted brightness and contrast, corrected the color gamut, added sharpness, and noise. But most importantly, I worked with light and shadows to make the textures of the city buildings more voluminous, clearer, and more expressive.

Looking at the screenshots, you may not always be able to catch the difference between what it was and what it has become. However, when you launch the game and play for any of the Factions, you will feel it, you will notice the difference if you remember the original appearance of the cities well.

INTERFACE MODIFICATION – “NVS_InterfaceElements.pak”

The “NVS InterfaceElements.pak” module includes improvements to the quality of some of the original interface elements without changing its layout, as is done in other mods.

My goal was to make the interface clearer, more visually understandable, and more beautiful.

However, in addition to improving the quality of the buttons, this module also includes new loading screens for missions from all 13 campaigns in Heroes of Might and Magic V, created by the talented artist Sveta Nero. We did not want to generate illustrations using neural networks, as we value and respect human labor more. The works were created with soul, with a sense of style that reflects the official illustrations for the Might and Magic franchise games, dedicated not to old worlds, but to Ashan. These are works that correspond to the game canon, and among them, you can find Easter eggs.

The main menu of “Lords of the Horde” has been replaced with the main menu from the original game, but with reworked and improved textures of the elements of this splash screen. The updated game logo, including the active “Might and Magic” logo, has been added. The main menu will play the same musical theme that was in the original game.

The interface mod includes new resource icons, updated building icons in the construction menu in cities of 6 out of 8 Factions (excluding the Northern Clans and the Great Horde), updated icons for unit dwellings on the adventure map, and updated icons for defensive structures in besieged cities.

And the mod also includes much more.

TEXT EDITS – «NVS_Texts.pak»

ALL CAMPAIGNS MOD FOR NVS – «All_Campaigns for NVS.pak»

The mod for all campaigns, or «AllCampaignMod.h5u», has now been repaired, refined, and adapted for the NVS 3.0 project (as far as was currently possible). The intro cinematic upon launching the game and the cinematic after completing the first 6 original campaigns have been restored.

Key areas addressed: fixing animations, fixing scripts, camera display in cutscenes, disabling the sound of endless running feet or galloping hooves in cutscenes, and several other fixes that generally stabilized this mod, making it almost like it was in the original game and the first add-on, «Hammers of Fate». Some things even became better in my opinion.

On the mission maps of all six original campaigns, official scenarios for the original game (version 1.6), as well as on the mission maps of the three campaigns from the «Hammers of Fate» add-on (version 2.1) and its official scenarios, new objects have appeared that were previously absent, having first appeared in the «Tribes of the East» add-on. Also, naturally, objects that first appeared in the «Hammers of Fate» add-on were added to the mission maps of the original game's campaigns and scenarios.

On the mission maps of the «Tribes of the East» add-on campaigns, as well as in the official scenarios, missing objects were also added (as we believe).

A huge contribution to the refinement and repair of this mod was made by masters Rommy and MoonSt@r, as well as master Zobr, to whom we express our immense gratitude. I will talk about our joint work further on.

In the original game campaigns and Hammers of Fate, as well as in the official scenarios that were added to the Tribes of the East add-on in this mod, the recruitment of alternative upgraded creatures by the player and AI in cities, as well as their upgrade in forts on hills located on the adventure map, has been disabled. This was done to partially return to the atmosphere that existed before the release of Tribes of the East. However, there are exceptions and some nuances. You can judge for yourselves how critical they are. We did what we could.

1. In squads of non-upgraded neutral units or random unit squads located on the adventure map, alternative upgraded units may and will be encountered;
2. Necromancers in the original campaigns, Hammers of Fate campaigns, and official scenarios for these games included in the Tribes of the East add-on via this mod, can resurrect defeated enemies as alternative upgraded units. However, during game testing, the AI did not resurrect such units because it, like a human player, could not replenish its army with such troops from cities or upgrade the army to alternative units in hill forts. Therefore, most likely, you will not want to resurrect such units in these campaigns either. But, of course, the decision is yours.

When playing through each campaign and each official scenario included in this mod, you can:

- find at least one mentor in each campaign (sometimes two). Most often they are encountered in the later stages of completion;
- discover at least one Library of Secrets (Library of Enlightenment in the original game);
- find shrines of Mother Earth;
- find random sanctuaries and other objects.

Artifacts from sets now carry over with heroes to subsequent campaign missions not only in Tribes of the East, but also in the original campaigns and the Hammers of Fate campaigns added to this mod.

Viewing of cinematics from campaigns and scenarios has been added to the menu «Settings» → «Videos» → «Cinematics»;

Cutscene resolutions have been fixed to 1920x1080 pixels for: «The Trap», «Isabel's Vow»; «Battle for the Heart of the Griffin»; «Nikolai's Resurrection»; «Death of Markel» and «The Ritual». Russian voice acting for these videos has been restored;

Screen darkening upon mission completion has been removed (considering the screen resolution of 1920x1080 pixels);

Tutorials (display of the manual in settings) have been added for new player profiles. When replaying campaigns on old profiles, the manual will not be displayed.

FIX-MODS IN NVS 3.0 – «UsefulFixMods_for_NVS.pak»

A crucial component of the NVS 3.0 global modification for Heroes of Might and Magic V are the fix-mods. Most of them were created by various authors for the entire Heroes gaming community. We decided it was important to include some of these fixes in NVS. Such mods make the game more pleasant and comfortable. Some fix-mods were created specifically for NVS, while others are included not in «UsefulFixMods_for_NVS», but in other modules of the project.

Below I will list which fix-mods are included in NVS 3.0 and provide a brief description for them.

1. «HornedDemonShackles» - a fix returning shackles to fire demons, which they had in the original version of the game (embedded in «NVS_RestylingUnits.pak»). Fix published by RedHeavenHero in 2014.
2. «ManaBar» - a fix that moves the hero mana bar under the movement points bar. Fix published by mrHalfer in 2017.
3. «Vampire_Lord_visual_fix» - a fix returning the visual effect to the swords of higher vampires for the «stir00» animation (hovering the cursor over a creature in battle). A similar visual effect is present for vampire lords. Fix published by psathka in 2012.
4. «()VISUAL_FIX.pak» by master Frozensoull, in which the following changes were made:
   - artifacts «Rune Combat Harness» and «Markel's Skull» received animation like other artifacts. In the original version of the game, these artifacts only had rotation animation and lacked glow (the skull part was supplemented by a fix from master Zobr);
   - «happy» animation added (plays when the hero wins a battle) for shadow mistresses;
   - corrected the glow of Fury blades for the «stir00» animation (hovering the cursor over a creature in battle). Previously, the blades stopped glowing when hovering the cursor over this creature;
   - corrected the Astral Dragon eye effect for the «stir00» animation (hovering the cursor over a creature in battle). Previously, the eyes disappeared when hovering the cursor over this creature;
   - corrected the glow effect of death heralds for the «happy» animation (plays when the hero wins a battle). Previously, creatures lost their glow effect during this animation;
   - corrected the glow effect of the higher vampire sword on the adventure map. Previously, higher vampires lacked this effect on the world map;
   - corrected the description of the «Warehouse» building for Stronghold cities. Previously, the description stated it produced crystals, although it actually produces mercury.
   This fix was published in 2018.

1. «Harpooner_Fix» - a fix adding a projectile for the Fortress harpooner, which was previously missing. Published by master Zobr in 2019.
2. «FortressAmbience» - a fix that adds background noise to Fortress cities - now dwarves clink pickaxes, and the wind simply howls. Published by master Zobr in 2019.
3. «H5A2_style_icons» and «DungeonSacrifice_Big icons» - fixes that change the display of icons for all non-upgraded and upgraded units. They are now maximum resolution, similar to those used for alternative upgraded unit icons. The second fix is related to the first and concerns the display of beast and minotaur icons in the sacrificial pit of Dungeon cities. Both fixes were published by master Zobr in 2023.
4. «RazedInferno_FIX» - a fix adding a fiery glow to the central building of a ruined Inferno city on the adventure map. Published by master Zobr in 2024.
5. «HappyFury» - a fix correcting the glow effect of fury swords, which disappears during the joy animation. Fix published by master Lorian in 2024.
6. «RefugeeCampFix» - a fix that adds light effects to the windows of the refugee camp (in NVS 3.0 – mercenary guild). Published by master Zobr in 2024.
7. «Teal_Rampart_fix» - a fix correcting the Sylvan faction emblem above cities, mines, etc., when the player chooses the teal flag. In the original game, the Haven emblem was there; now, as it should be – the teal Sylvan emblem. Fix published by master Zobr in 2025.
8. «SubTerrain_(2&3)» - a fix restoring missing paths to dungeons in the original and Hammers of Fate campaigns and scenarios when playing on Tribes of the East. Published by master MoonSt@r in 2025.
9. «RedPaladinMove» - a fix correcting jerky combat animations for Isabel's Knights (Champions in NVS 3.0). Published by master Kayfenok in 2025.
10. «dung-moat» - a fix adding an additional glow effect to the moat of Dungeon cities during their siege. Published by master Zobr in 2026.
11. «DungeonMove» - a fix correcting the jerky movement animation of all standard dungeon heroes on the adventure map. Published by master BigOverlord in 2026.
12. Fix for resetting the «Education» skill for Barbarians at mentors. Fix created by master MoonSt@r.
13. «HavenMove» fix, correcting the jerky movement animation of Frida and Ornella on the adventure map. Published by master Kayfenok in 2026.
14. «HavenExpertCounterstrike» - a fix correcting the description of the «Counterstrike» skill for Knight class heroes. Published by master BigOverlord in 2026.
15. «LEGACY_CREATURES_WORD_COUNTER» - a fix reducing the font size of labels containing information about the number of enemy creatures on the adventure map. Published by master G0ldiel in 2026.
16. «exit_fix» - a fix correcting the position of the «Exit» label in the main game menu. Published by master sork96 in 2026 (included in the «NVS_InterfaceElements.pak» module).
17. «fixs» - fixes from master Rommy, which correct and add the following:
    - correction of the position of campaign names in the main menu;
    - correction of the «Battle Frenzy» effect description for war griffins;
    - correction of jerky battlefield movement animation for zealots of faith;
    - correction of jerky battlefield movement animation for demonesses (original model);
    - correction of jerky battlefield movement animation for Arkat's warriors;
    - correction of jerky battlefield movement animation for red dragons;
    - addition of missing vertical attack effect for knights;
    - addition of missing attack effect for trackers;
    - addition of missing attack effect for overseer minotaurs;
    - addition of missing attack effect for mountain guardians;
    - addition of missing melee attack effect for harpooners;
    - addition of missing melee attack effect for pest gremlins;
    - addition of missing attack effect for obsidian golems (original model);
    - addition of missing attack effect for djinn viziers;
    - addition of missing attack effect for wind dancers;
    - addition of missing melee attack effect for forest archers;
    - addition of missing foliage fall effect when hitting ents and wild ents (their original models);
    - addition of missing attack effect for bone warriors;
    - addition of missing attack effect for Arkat's warriors.

This fix was published in 2026.

1. «Shadow Mistress Teleport» - a fix changing the animation and movement speed of night mistresses in battle. Now they teleport, however, they do not become flying units. Published by master ArchWarlock in 2008.
2. «ConfusionSpell_noface.h5u» - a fix removing the face of a developer from the Nival Interactive team from the «Forgetfulness» spell effect Published by master black-hat in 2017.
3. «m30_rus_townspec.h5u» - a fix adding a more detailed description of town specializations for all playable factions Published by master black-hat in 2017.
4. «NoFunObject.h5u» - a fix removing fan-objects from developers on various Heroes of Might and Magic V maps, such as a tank, a shot-down plane, UFO, etc. Published by master black-hat in 2017.
5. «NoSwampHaze.h5u» - a fix reducing the intensity of swamp haze. Published by master black-hat in 2017.
6. «SoundLocGain.h5u» - a heavy-weight fix. Increases the volume level in all campaign videos and «Tribes of the East» scenarios. Published by master black-hat in 2017.
7. «StalkerAttackMod.h5u» - a fix-mod replacing the stalker attack animation with a more spectacular one - the one used for counterattacks. Published by master black-hat in 2017.
8. «ZealotRedShot» - a fix-mod changing the shooting effect for adepts and Alaric to a red-orange analogue of the monks' and inquisitors' (chaplains in NVS 3.0) shooting effect. Published by master RedHeavenHero in 2020.
9. «Creatures&Heroes_NormalLODModels» - a large and important fix-mod replacing all creature and hero LOD textures with normal (non-reduced) size textures. At the same time, textures on these models are displayed correctly. Fix created and published by master MoonSt@r in 2026;

There might be something else useful, but unfortunately, I cannot remember exactly what. All these fixes were collected over years. And then they were added to the developing NVS over the past 4 years.

SKILL WHEEL FOR NVS 3.0 – “SkillWheel_3.1_for_NVS.h5u”

This module with the hero skill wheel is adapted for NVS 3.0. When combined with the entire modification, it is located in the UserMODs folder. Compared to the classic skill wheel, our version differs only in the icons of the game Factions. The old ones were taken from the icons of the heroes' racial skills. The new ones are based on the canonical symbols of the Factions. This change, although cosmetic, further immerses the player in the atmosphere of the game.

OPTIONAL MOD - "UnlockCampaignHeroes_ForNVS.h5u"

"UnlockCampaignHeroes_ForNVS.h5u" is located in a special folder called "OptionalMODs" within the overall NVS 3.0 mod package. After extracting the entire NVS 3.0 mod archive, you can optionally extract this mod, which allows you to play as all campaign heroes in single-player missions, and move it to the base "UserMODs" folder.

Important: I do not recommend using this optional mod while playing through all the official campaigns included in "All_Campaigns for NVS.pak," because some campaign heroes will behave incorrectly. For example, in the "Invasion" mission of the Necropolis campaign, Cyrus will run around the entire map, and there is a risk of encountering him and destroying him. After Cyrus is destroyed in the third mission of the Markel campaign, the fourth mission is automatically completed.

Oh, finally finished? :D I was already used to the fact that your mod only existed as a link in your signature :D It's even a bit strange now. ))

In general, congratulations from the bottom of my heart! I hope you are happy and satisfied with your work after so much time, and you don't regret anything! )

Is this spam? Can I write such an off-topic message? I just wanted to congratulate the person. )