Coming back to the post's original topic...
Let me quickly say hello from the developers mentioned in this post,
We are not doing a full fledged client based MMO, I am afraid, as this would be beyond our meagre means and also almost all big client based futuristic RPGs have failed commercially, so it is a BIG risk. So it means our game will not be huge, shiny and it will not aim to build the 6th world brick by brick for you to experience. That being said, if anyone has 60 to 70 million dollars lying around unused looking for an investment opportunity, we are happy to reconsider.
Instead we intend to focus on the more tactical parts of the game and we will do a browser based game with small team gameplay (either alone or with others), more in the tradition of Baldur's Gate crossed with Jagged Alliance - with more firepower. We will have a seperate AI server for the game to ensure challenging fights and enemy behaviour.
We have began to talk with Shadowrun writers regarding plots and missions and want to stay as close to the game's plot as possible and keep the essence of the setting very much in the foreground. Many of us have been fans for over a decade and we have made our fair share of runs, so we want to stay true to the game we love.
Now reality, being the nasty thing it is, may force us to make compromises due to limited budget or technological barriers, so we can't promise anything at that point and anyway, this is not the place for marketing blurbs.
What we do want is for the fans of Shadowrun to become part of our development effort - as a critical (but hopefully constructive) audience, as a group to exchange ideas with (knowing we cannot incorporate each one) and to keep us straight in aiming for what makes the game great.
And no, we do not think this is steampunk, that was a misquote from our text for the Deadlands Action RPG we also intend to do...