I imagine there will be quite a lot of reactions to the new plans so let's try a discussion about what everyone thinks.
Myself - first impressions are that it might not be a bad thing. I think we all know the game could do with more funding and this might be a way to achieve that. On top of that it's probably easier to roll out this smaller scale project quickly - which would allow everyone to start playing sooner. Then, when the main server is finally up and running folks can com into the battlezone with much more of a clue as to what they are doing.
I obviously won't have thought of all the possible issues - so more thoughts?