Beats me. I'm skeptic that all the 140,000 units sold of AoD represent 140,000 grognards. It is common sense that most players don't finish their games, which indicates that people buy games on a whim, just because they can. Some (most?) of the negative reviews of AoD suggest that some players have no idea what type of game they are buying. The steam culture revolves around consumerists, not genuine gamers.
My point isn't that they are all grognards, but that they were influenced by other people (forum discussions and such) not the title. The reason AoD keeps selling 3 years after release is not because people keep stumbling upon it but because people keep talking about it, recommending it, discussing mechanics, etc.
https://www.reddit.com/r/rpg_gamers/comments/9dk7r9/rpg_request
"I'd also like to recommend Age of Decadence. It's set in a sort of post-apocalyptic Roman Empire-esque world, the writing is great, and I found it to be much more enjoyable than the MMO-style gameplay that the Dragon Age series devolved into. It's isometric, with turn-based combat, Fallout style. Almost all (maybe all?) of the combat is avoidable, depending on the character you create and the choices you make. Combat is difficult and punishing, and you're usually better off avoiding it (but I did have tons of fun playing as a crossbow/jambia wielding smooth[ish] talker with an impressive body count). Supernatural stuff does (kind of) exist, although in this setting it's pretty indistinguishable from advanced technology, which can also be found. For the most part, however, you're relying on your wits and your sword-arm. Put plenty of points in lore and streetwise, and thank me later."
Of course not everyone who buys the game after reading this post will like it, but that's a different story.
Anyway, Colony Ship is the undisputed winner on the Codex so far. Any specific objections to this particular title?