Hey,

Firstly - just joined as I'm just getting quite involved with ActionScript, so thought it a good thing to do! :-)

I've developed an MMORPG before that was purely browser-based (HTML/CSS/JavaScript output, PHP backend) and subsequently coded an MMORPG server in C++ for Linux ... So, there's a few things I can suggest...

If you are considering developing your own server or using someone elses, it's a lot of work to develop your own and there's a million unknown extras (like hack protection, bad disconnects, etc) that need to be considered. But, on the plus side - you get a proprietry server that other people cannot easily replicate, plus you can control exactly how bandwidth is utilised by your system - the 'alternatives' may use packets in a more generic way which isn't quite as efficient (not always the case). If you're not using your own software, then you may as well not host it - like Archbob said, you'll probably find it cheaper.

I use The Planet (formally EV1) for dedicated hosting - it's pretty cheap, you get TONS of bandwidth, and the support is superb. Again, assume your game will start off small but make sure the software is capable of expanding in the future, and hopefully it'll need to.

MMORPG's are an extreme amount of work but I think they can be coded in a way that breaks them down into smaller manageable chunks. I do agree that working on a smaller game first is best - I'm about to embark on my very first ActionScript project (or Flash project, for that matter!) - a small Multiplayer game, but then I've written other stuff in C++ so it translates well. Point being, experience in the language is good, don't be impatient like me, it doesn't always pay ;-) And certainly don't be put off by the big MMORPG's, there's a HUGE scope still out there for decent MMORPG's to be written using Flash & ActionScript. So good luck