Thank you for such an honest and generous follow-up, and for the kind words about sticking with the core idea. I really appreciate it!
Your story with the 3rd star is very useful for us: a player who completes the first level on every difficulty and still loses interest is exactly the signal i need. I will look at how clear and reachable the 3-star goal is on level 1, and at making the payoff for each attempt feel better.
You're not a noob at all, and i will keep your feedback in mind while we build on the game. Thanks again for playing and for taking the time to write all this!