Thank you again GeistSR

my question in the wrong forum was:

"Simply:
I have the off-line installers for Might & Magic V Bundle downloaded and ready to install (ty DRM free thingy)

My question why are there two separate installers? HoMMV + Hammer's of Fate / HoMMV - Tribes of the East.
That is exactly how it's written. Specifically the + and/or the (-) dash.
Perhaps Tribes of the East is standalone?

I was going to install HoMMV + HoF first, then try to add the other on top of... or ya know, just install the Expansion called Tribes of the East with it. IF it *is an expansion. IDK. Or - if it is in addition and needs to be added, should I wait until completion of the first DLC. Which is odd too because according to the Store page (probably on Steam) TotE was published first. With GoG - the installars are numbered with HoF as v2 and TotE v3. I hope that's not too confusing.

Any helps is unbelievably appreciated. Ty."

GeistSR had said, (where I'd posted initially) they were all independent, or stand-alone. If that is true, how and / or why do I have only two installers? Or do both installers contain an install of the base game?

There's a HoMMV + HoF and HoMMV - TotE. There's no installer soley for HoMM V.
I've not tried to install anything yet though. As per mentioning that cronology was a concern. Which came first, the chicken... =P

Only if time permits okay ) ty ty ty

Lets use nowadays term DLC. HOF was DLC. TOTE never be an DLC - it is absolutely separate game and entry in the Heroes sub-series.

Old terms was AddOn for what is become DLC. Additional content incorporated directly to original game as update and locked until paid.
Expansion are installable above but use separate exe and looks more like separate game.

Stand-alone Expansion are not Expansion (or DLC). This term was used for new game(s) made on old engine usually while new engine game was already announced.

There is Stand-alone type which is actually AddOn but main content locked opposite. They are just AddOn/Expansion/DLCs although marketing as Stand-alone.

Rarest for old retail discs based games. More usual for modern digital. There is also at least one case i know when stand-alone been entirely new game updated to be AddOn DLC. It is use separate link/entry in Steam but launch now same game as base link/entry. Dawn of War 2 Chaos Rising. CR become AddOn DLC.
There is usually Standalone which actually DLC with base game locked. Like Shogun 2 Fall of the Samurai.

Old discs have all of that too but rarely. Disciples 2 Gallean's Return was sold first as two standalone expansions both have base game preinstalled with them and locked. Heroes 3 AB and SoD entirely separate but remade as Complete become AddOn DLCs. Heroes Chronicles become 8in1 bundle (still available on GOG by alternate link - you need change ID number to bundle number in usual download link for any Chronicles Chapter).
Disciples 2 also have new game third one in the series - Disciples II The Rise of the Elves. Not an Expansion DLC and those can have own DLCs and did have one. D2 have 2 DLCs and third one installment as extended version (another type of expansions-reworks like Completeor Bnet Edition for Warcraft 2) and D2ROTE have 1 DLC.

There is Exclusive DLC AddOn for Heroes 5 and Hammers of Fate Expansion DLC. Tribes of the East are not Expansion DLC. And not compatible technically even in both ways(backward). H5 skirmish offline/mp maps still can be used with no single issue. So TOTE are just 1 game 1 i staller 0 DLC. Heroes 5 HOF is 1 game 1 installer 2 DLC incorporated - one of them as separate exe file which as i remember still OT CORRECTLY LINKED. Not on Desktop but maybe was added in latest update to OS Start Menu GOG section. To launch HOF DLC you need link file to bin1a/hmm5.exe instead of regular bin/hmm5.exe.
Such DLCs are technically backward compatible with base game content.

There is ways to launch base game campaigns as DLC exe and Standalone TotE exe. Half extracted half modded way. Better do not - it would not play most video sequences. Ifs limitation by design. More minor bugs can happen cause of changed balance.
And major bugs ofc possible too. Changed balance also can make some issues in completing campaign but that most likely been altered. So this mods are VERY altered way to play storymode campaign.

By the way. Heroes 5 2in1 bundle still available on GOG same way as 8in1 Heroes Chronicles. But HC really installed as 8in1 while H5 bundle are just incorrectly bundles two installers in one and both game still installed separatly. There is no point in downloading those old installers. With such bundle you cant really chose where to install game and there is excess folder in path.
Heroes Chronicles better to be installed from 8in1.

For specific cases about bundles look to GOGDB org website.

Answered in the other one as well but, install order won't be an issue. Strongly recommend playing Tribes of the East after the other two though.

tl;dr -> Run both installers. It's probably been close to a decade since I installed the games, and I don't remember how it went. Based on what I have though, you'll probably end up with a main "Bundle" folder, and within the Bundle folder you'll have two different install folders and three different executables. The base game install folder will have an exe for the base game and an exe for HoF. The TotE folder will have an exe for TotE. Each exe is effectively a separate version of the game, so you'll use the exe that matches the version you want to play.

=====

Long version

Caveat: It's been a long time since I actually acquired the HoMM5 bundle and installed it, so I'm putting together the installer bit based on what I'm seeing in the store page versus on my list of games owned.

When you buy the HoMM5 bundle, you get two products added to your shelf. One product will be for HoMM5 (Base game) and the Hammers of Fate (first expansion), while the second product will be for HoMM5: Tribes of the East (second expansion).

HoF was more of an expansion (but not quite, more on that later), while TotE was a stand alone install even when first sold. If you want to try the campaigns from all 3 (base, HoF, TotE), then you'll run both of the installers. You'll need to sort out install paths and so on; when I check my old downloads, I'm seeing a download folder for the bundle, and I'm seeing two other download folders (one for base (with HoF inside) and one for TotE) for a total of 3 different download folders. I apparently acquired this back in 2013, and I don't remember what my download and install situation was like a decade ago.

Moving on to the games, the development here was something of a mess. I've played through all campaigns of the base game and HoF relatively recently, but I haven't done more than start the first mission of the TotE campaign thus far. Apparently development on HoF was started while the base game was still being patched, but all the updates to the base game didn't make it into HoF, so these will have different versions (and both are missing some quality of life features that the other one has). Tribes of the East was created later and is a separate install and a stand alone version of the game (I think HoF requires a base game installation, though the GOG product takes care of this for you).

So yeah. Effectively you have three different versions of the game. The base game has 6 factions and 6 campaigns. Hammers of Fate adds the Dwarf faction and has three campaigns; it is missing some game play features that the base game will have (ex. wait button in combat), but it also has some things the base game doesn't have (ability to caravan units from map creature dwellings to a city). The Renegade (red dressed) Haven units aren't a playable faction as such, though you do get to use them some in HoF. Tribes of the East adds the Orc/Barabarian faction; I don't know the state of its game play much beyond that since I haven't really played it.

You'll have to set your gameplay options for each of them independently. The exe's are effectively separate game installs.

Just wanted to say THANK YOu to all of you !!! TYVM