Hello! Yes, the core engine (for things like pathfinding) is still 2D because that’s how the game started out, so 3D overhangs were a significant complication that we decided to not tackle. Even if we did add technical support for them, they present a number of really intense camera/ui challenges – how do we let you pick one layer vs another, or show what’s going on underneath? We can’t zoom in and out as freely as XCOM because we have pixel art. It was easier to simplify out lives by writing them off.
For NWES camera views, I’ve gone back and forth on them. Generally, they get the worst of both worlds where they look awkward since the blocks lose a lot of depth information plus they aren’t quite as useful as full top-down. The next thing on my list to try is free draggable rotation with the mouse that snaps back to a diagonal once you release, so you can examine things but not live in a weird angle.
Thanks for the questions lol sorry for such long answers :)