Would it fare better as an auto movement rail shooter you think? like Starblade was? because that's what it reminded me of personally.
Maybe. However, I was originally envisioning it as a tribute to the old Descent games. (i.e. 360 degrees of freedom FPS).
Some of the areas I have in mind will be considerably more open with various inter-connected paths and corridors, so I would prefer a shooter that enables considerable freedom in terms of player movement.