What map objects? Statics? You'll need to create them like units, in 3ds Max. There is no way to insert new models into the game without converting them to .msh format. You can modify textures of existing models with relative ease however.
Smoke
Lobby is in the works now, this patch will be released without it (but with new MP and other features as said in patch announcement thread).
TAM255
What video? Promotional one with pre-rendered graphics?
Looks like problem with user rights... maybe your OS is Vista? Try to copy this file to your My documents folder or right click on it and select "Run as Administrator" from context menu.
Dr. Jones tool extracts only files which are described in text file which comes with his unpacker, because of that these extra files were not unpacked. Try to add their names to that file and unpack again.
In near future (several months) maps will keep their physical size, but increasing texture resolution by several times is planned for new maps in future releases.
Yes, you can edit height map and "terrain type" map (grass, culture grass, flowers, soil, etc.).
There will be changelog posted of course along with the patch release.
Health is a health... gun and other equipment is disabled or destroyed if it's health reaches zero. For example, ammo rack in the tank have a chance of detonation when it's health becomes zero, engine and fuel tanks may catch fire, etc. Some parts in the new patch are set to damage threshold type (this means they are destroyed only if receive damage higher than their health).
Try to open TOW.exe file properties and set it to "Run as Administrator". This is because Vista doesn't allow the game to access it's directory by default.