RealmCrafter looks nice! It is definitely worth investigating more.

It should be noted that roughly 95% of computers connected to the Internet have Flash players installed[1], which thus makes Flash an ideal platform for online games in terms of user scope. In other words, it will be ideal if the Zelaron MMORPG will be playable from school and work.

We could use SmartFoxServer PRO as a platform, but it is only free for up to 20 simultaneously connected players. DOFUS is an example of a full-feature Flash-based MMORPG which uses SmartFoxServer PRO.

It would also be possible to create our own server for free and connect to it via the XMLSocket functions in Flash. ActionScript is very similar to C++, PHP and Java, so it could be a good way to go.

"Stephen Wolfram is the creator of Mathematica and is widely regarded as the most important innovator in scientific and technical computing today." - Stephen Wolfram