Stop pointing at the age. Just stop.
Disco FL is here not because it is competitive with present day space sims, but because of its spirit and all the things we enjoy (but forget about).
Once again, If we could organize just a little bit, we could bring the activity (even if partial), to any place.
Also, I must admit, that storyline is a bit too slow, and it brings boredom after all. Or there is active story development, or there is no story at all. Imagine the Sirius with no houses, factions, lores, etc. All you have is legacy tech and pre-lore, which only brings the idea of how the things were before. The point of such a thought is just to give an empty field for purely player-driven lore.
Actually, the 80 year jump in time is an iteresting idea.