hahah frigate 3 is when things get a LITTLE more interesting
honestly though its a MMG, there is bound to be tons and tons of 'time wasting' before you get to actually have any weight and say in the game.
I compare it to Baron Realms Elite where you spend the first 2 weeks of the game just building up your empire, the next 2 weeks trying to figure out how to keep growing your empire, then the next 4 weeks trying not to get blown to shit by the guy that has an empire twice as big as yours, and then the next 2 weeks either negotiating a counter-alliance to big brother or pathetically moving about your remaining resources in hopes the other guy forgets to login for a month so that you can win.
I've been in the game now for 9 days and have lost a destroy during a foolish through 0.0 space and just bought an Industrial so that I can haul mining loads for my buddies.
Overall, I'd say the staying factor is social. If you can find some friends and they are people likewise motivated then this is the game for you. I guess it helps that I'm on TS every night with 6 guys I used to play planetside with.