Source Engine Chosen For MMORPG

I've been waiting for a game like this forever. Always wanted a MMORPG that takes real skills, so PvP isn't just spreadsheet wars most of the time. FPS combat is what the MMORPG genre needs to make it interesting, at least for me.

Can this engine do vast open landscapes?
Vast as in, takes at least half an hour to cross on foot, like Flashpoint, Farcry, or Saga of Ryzom for that matter.

Is realistic physics (and location based damage?) on a massive scale in multiplayer feasable as of yet? I mean, a battle involving several dozens of players and even more NPCs/Mobs (i'm thinking SoR "raids") is not something you'd typically find in an FPS, so this engine probably isn't build for that and if it is, it's questionable if any server hardware exists which can handle it. Isn't the physics usually disabled in Farcry multiplayer?
Large scale battles are hard enough to pull off without realistic physics, let alone when the server also has to keep track of a load of limbs and debris flying around, and (hopefully) location based damage.

I predict that one of the following will happen:

a. This game will not be a MMORPG supporting thousands of players on the same server, when it comes out.
b. This game will not be a MMORPG, when it comes out.
c. This game will not use the HL2 Source engine, when it comes out.
d. This game will not have the same combat system, physics, and other impressive features of the Source engine, when it comes out.
e. This game won't come out.

Why? I don't think the source engine will scale quite as well as they are hoping for. The client side of it might, if the game's world was split into smaller sections that players can quickly enter/leave, but I can't imagine any server coping with all of the features of the source engine, for hundreds or thousands of players.

I really hope Smiling Gator Productions isn't basing their engine evaluations on the e3 demos, cause all that "advanced AI" was entirely scripted...

uh..............this isn't April 1st.

WTF.

They call the game a XORG and claim it's never been done before. Even thought it wasn't a big success, Neocron already beat them to the punch.

Well this certainly came the fuck out of left field.
Good for Valve I guess. So long as they don't try to start using the source engine for Flight Simulator or something equally wacky like that.

Concept sounds good but with a possible early 06 release well by then won't the engine be a bit dated?

From what I read of the FAQ, that game looks like it could be fun. Reminds me a bit of STALKER as an online RPG or Planetside with more RPG elements and no bases :)

They will have it ready for release before HL2 comes out and won't be able to sell it until HL2 is out. Just like Vampire: the Masquerade - Bloodlines.

Gotta pay the lawyers some how...

HL2 will ship before this game, right?

Should be sweet. But I cringe a little when I see a big-name engine being licenced on a relatively no-name project. I couldn't say why though. Having Source to work with can only make a project better I guess.

But thats what I thought with Unreal Engine and Lineage 2. :\

a kickass engine promises nothing if the developer doesn't know how to use it.

is there going to be an announcement that some rpg game licensed the doom3 engine tomorrow? maybe farcry2 engine the day after tomorrow.. dukeforever engine the day after tomorrow's tomorrow?

Fucking fuckity fuckleberries, let's have Half-Life 2 already.

Release date: September 30th, 2010.

Now that's versatility!