Sorry to hear that. I know that going away from classic twin-stick shooter towards Vampire-like shooter is the most controversial aspect of this game and not everyone is happy about it.
As for the small planet. At early stage of development I had a similar idea. This would be a unique approach, but it would require more work and would present new problems that can be avoided using the traditional isometric approach.
I'm a single guy developing this game so I've decided to stick with the easier and simpler solution.