If I play a game, I lose interest slowly but inevitably. Disco did beat all other stuff I tried. By years. And the interest comes back after a while. That's why so many people return.
Other than that... ingame rp is hard to do. We also have to fly. Transports need to be kept going, fighters need to be kept alive, and one has to pursue his agenda. Yes, that means shooting. If I log my pirate, I rarely have the time to type, usually I'm in a hurry to the next possible interception point. If someone asks me (my character) stuff that can't be answered in 2-3 lines, I usually direct them to my skype, or to the forum.
Also if I'm curious about a faction, I go to the Neural-Net and read a lot. If you want to know how a war goes, you wont go out and chat with the soldiers. You watch news, or read on the net. It's all fine.