As your aware, basically yes, but as you also know, its a bit more technical than just that, since doing that on its own, doesn't save any memory, it just moves where the spec is. The trick is on top of moving the spec to the normal maps, is to then have the diffuse be in a higher rez than the spec/normal maps, since that's doing most of the work, while only being saved in DXT1 which is 1/4 of the file size of DXT5, which is what the normal/spec maps need to be saved in, but since they are 1/4 of the rez of the diffuse now, costs far less memory, without affecting visual detail very much, especially if its at the current rez it was before, which it is in most cases, with the diffuse being 4x the rez it was before, for only 2x the memory, where doing that rez in the old traditional setup, would be 6x the memory.

Are the ERA blocks just for the looks or are they actually working somehow?

For now they will count as front armour, including the ones on the side etc, but in time we may make them have a special material that only tandem weapons will be able to do significant damage against.

The Desert Variant could be in Beirut, as Russian Naval INF don't have acess to T-90(they have acess for the T-80, but the T-72 would make more sense than the T-90)

this version have a ATGM?

From Wikipedia
T-72B (Object 184) (NATO code: SMT M198:[44] {1985}[41] (SMT ? Soviet Medium Tank) Much improved version with 1A40-1 fire control system, thicker armour, turret front and top was heavily reinforced with composite armour better known by its US codename "Super Dolly Parton", 20 mm of appliqu? armour in the front of hull, 9K120 system which gives T-72B 9M119 "Svir" (NATO code: AT-11 Sniper) laser-guided antitank missile capability, new 2A46M main gun, 1K13-49 sight, stabilization system, and a new V-84-1 engine with 840 hp (626 kW). On early models the smoke dischargers were mounted on the turret front (as per T-72A), later they were grouped on the left side of the turret to prepare for the installation of ERA bricks.

Well the game is very geometry-intensive; that's graphics card performance department. Lag and stuttering, maybe even the occasional connection freeze or drop, that's due to the enormous amount of network info that must be coordinated between each client and the server, then back out to all clients.

So what is it that newer systems have that could help run the game better & suffer less gameplay issues (such as my often experienced memory failure crash) ? Is it more RAM ? More GPU memory ?

Just saying my own opinion but i think you should make it like the PZIV in WW2, where u can use binoc's from it, i just feel its so much more usefull :P