Heya Goldhawk, i'll early access/kickstart Xenonauts 2 instantly no matter how it ends up . I love Xenonauts, so you deserve it.
I've got some thoughts too, that i'd like to share.
I prefer the tactical fights of Xenonauts to that of Xcom. The fights felt gamey in Xcom and a lot more cerebral in xenonauts. I also love the isometric viewport, i hope you dont plan on changing that too much.
As others have stated on the page dedicated for Xenonauts 2, i'd love for you to make the aliens much more alien. Xcom apocalypse had some interesting and strange aliens, for example the Multiworm that spawned hyperworms on death. The popper that exploded on proximity was also awesome and could be lethal.
The Xenopedia is awesome, and a fantastic way of telling a story. I've spent so much time reading all of the entries several times over, instead of saving the earth. Keep up the good work. Oh, and i've read the short story.. Twice:p
Lastly, have you settled on an engine? Perhaps already decided on a polygon count and texture size for your character models?
Thanks for your time.
EDIT: Oh , and the move to 3D could make modding a whole lot easier. And awesomer! Especially if you keep the viewport at a distance and models a bit simpler then modern AAA games. So that you dont have to invest a month to a single model.