itch.io

Hey everyone,

It's been a crazy few weeks.

First off, I just want to say a massive thank you. I recently entered PCB Defense into a game jam with 98 entries, and we walked away with 1st place. I genuinely didn't expect it, and seeing people enjoy the chaos means a lot.

Since then, I've been grinding away on the next major update. The main goal? Pushing the visual chaos to the absolute limit.

The core idea of PCB Defense is the "power fantasy." You start with a calm, quiet circuit board. But if you survive long enough, it turns into a warzone. Hundreds of enemies, lasers everywhere, and the screen completely on fire. I wanted the new update to make that transition feel even more overwhelming.

Community Feedback Shapes the Game

One of the best things about this update is that it exists because of you. I got an incredible write-up from a player (you know who you are) with 15+ pages of notes on balance, bugs, and mechanics.

Because of that feedback, I've been able to fix things I completely missed:

• "Hover to collect" is now a thing (no more clicking endlessly for drops).
• Turret level gradients are much easier to read at a glance.
• Rebalanced the corruption cards so they don't instantly end a run.
• Fixed the leaderboard and added better mobile support.

Transparency Note

For anyone curious about the development process: I used AI tools for early-stage coding and visual prototyping. However, all final code and art are hand-tweaked and refined. The music is from existing itch.io assets.

What's Next?

I'm currently polishing the update and getting a proper trailer ready. If you want to see the chaos for yourself, the current build is free to play right in your browser.

Let me know what you think of the new direction. I'm always lurking in the comments.

— Juba

I have a game I built in Unity using only DeepSeek. More recently, I’ve been working with agents using Mimo v2.6 via OpenCode. I use the free versions of all of these tools.

The game actually works on mobile, but in its current version, it wouldn't be accurate to say it’s fully playable on mobile; I will optimize the gameplay for mobile in the next update. Thanks for the feedback.

Hey everyone,

I've been working on a browser tower defense game called PCB Defense for about 3 months. Just released v3.7.0 and would love some honest feedback — specifically on the early game experience.

Project link: https://juba13.itch.io/pcb-defense

What the game is:

Tower defense set on a circuit board. You play as a BIOS defending the center of the board from waves of corrupted data packets. Mouse only, free, no ads, runs in browser.

What I'm specifically looking for feedback on:

1. The tutorial flow. I rebuilt it from scratch recently because earlier feedback said the game was "unintuitive" and people couldn't tell what anything did. There are now 15 short tips that trigger the first time you encounter something new. Do they land? Is there a point where you're still confused?

2. The first 5 minutes. Do you understand what you're supposed to do without reading anything external? Where does it lose you?

3. Visual clarity. Specifically — can you tell enemies apart from collectible pickups at a glance? This was a common complaint earlier.

4. Difficulty curve. I made the first boss intentionally easier (a "learning round") and set up the second boss to require you to spend some skill points. Does that rhythm feel right?

I'm not looking for "great job!" — I'm looking for what doesn't work. Every comment I've gotten so far has directly shaped the next update.

Also happy to answer questions or swap feedback with other devs.

Thanks.

Your notes drove half the changelog. Bloom off, target lead, threat levels fixed, cursor aim precise, music now dynamic. Truly thank you.

v3.7.0: boss spawn equalized, prestige persists, collection radius upgraded, debuffs softened. Thanks for the thorough write-up.

You called it 'unintuitive' — you were right. v3.7.0 has 15 tutorial tips, tooltips everywhere, 'pads' renamed. Hope it reads better now.

v3.7.0 addresses your notes: auto-buy added, wave counts reduced, mobile coming in v3.8.0. Thanks for the detailed feedback.

I’m really glad you’re enjoying the game. I’ll look into what I can do about the issue you mentioned; I think it’s something I can resolve.

Thank you very much for your feedback; I always make improvements based on the feedback I receive.

Yes, I wanted the game to be challenging, but the feedback I’ve received—especially regarding the early game—has highlighted some issues. I am currently working on balancing the game, specifically focusing on the difficulty level of the early game. While I don't want it to be an easy game, you are absolutely right that it needs to be balanced.

Stay tuned; the next update will be released in the coming days. I look forward to hearing your feedback if you have the chance to try it out.

I'm really glad you're enjoying it. Don't hesitate to let me know if you encounter any errors or anything you don't like.

I'll be releasing an update soon, and your feedback would be very helpful to me.

Stay tuned for updates on the game.

First of all, thank you very much for this detailed feedback. You are right on many points; I’ve received a lot of criticism regarding the UI, but even though I’ve tried to fix it, no one else has offered such detailed suggestions. This has been incredibly helpful to me. Regarding the next update, there were general complaints about the game's difficulty, so I’ve made improvements specifically to debuff cards and game balance (though I haven't released it yet). I think I’ll finish up the UI improvements as well and release a comprehensive update.

Thanks again for your valuable feedback. I wish you success with your own game and will be following your progress.

Yes, I reviewed it and wrote a comment; I even gave it a rating.

I made some adjustments for the mobile version, but I'm not sure if the game runs properly on mobile. To be honest, only my wife has tested the mobile version, so I'm not sure what state it's in, lol.

You don't need to click to aim the turret; simply hovering your mouse cursor over the enemies is enough, and you can do the same to collect drops. There are keyboard shortcuts available for turret placement and upgrades.

Yes, it isn't a pure roguelike; I think "tower defense" is the most accurate genre description. It would be more precise to say that it incorporates "roguelike" and "incremental" elements.

I'm really glad you liked it. Regarding the visual improvements, I'll make the drops and enemies more distinct, just as you suggested. Thanks a lot for your feedback.

I'm really glad you're enjoying the game. I apologize for the issue you encountered. Yes, the problem you mentioned has already been reported by testers, and it will be fixed in the update I'm currently working on. I'll be releasing the update soon.

Yes, that's a good suggestion; I'll try it in the next update.

First of all, thank you for the feedback.

The fact that you can collect drops simply by hovering over them—rather than having to click on them—is the result of improvements made in recent updates. The text stating that you need to click to collect them is a leftover from the game's early versions.

Most of the other questions you asked should be covered in the settings menu, specifically under the "Game Mechanics" and "How to Play" sections.

I understand that the game is difficult; that was actually my intention. Imagine a game where you have to collect drops, manage the Bio-Weapon's targeting, set up and upgrade turrets, and upgrade the Bio-Weapon itself—all while fighting off incoming hordes and dealing with debuffs inflicted by the bosses you defeat. And finally, dying. That’s actually where the game restarts: beginning a new run with the skills you earned in the previous one.

My goal certainly isn't to create an "unintuitive game," and I agree with you on that point. While in-game tutorials do appear at the top of the screen, it is very difficult for a player to read them while juggling so many other tasks. However, I don't want to disrupt the game's pacing by adding a tutorial that stops the action and points a giant arrow at something saying "click here."

I really liked the feature where you can pick up weapons from downed bots and the roguelike cards (I'm not sure if those were there before).

I did notice one thing, though—I don't know if it was intentional or a bug: when I die and respawn during a run, the card selection screen doesn't appear when I finish the run; instead, it just proceeds to the next level.

I'll try it at the first opportunity.

First of all, I’m very glad you enjoyed the game. I am experimenting with game balance, and I appreciate the feedback. Thanks to the feedback received so far, the late game has actually become more balanced; however, the early game is currently harder than it should be. I will work on fixing that.

If you’ve played EFT, you know there are bots at that difficulty level; I think it’s an acceptable level of challenge. If you establish a good style for the game's future, I think it could be really great. Like I said, I don't think you should waste it on a deathmatch mode.

v0.6.1 is live now — your report is fixed.

What changed:

• 5 starter contracts at game start (all from Istanbul, so there's always something to do)

• Contract pool now refills correctly after each delivery

• Bedford TK 7.5t can no longer be the first truck (Ford Transit Mk2 recommended)

• Removed a tutorial flag that could permanently block contract generation

Refresh the game and try again — the empty pool shouldn't happen anymore.

And thank you for the detailed report. Playtesters like you who document bugs step-by-step are genuinely how this game gets better. If you keep finding things, please keep posting them here.

Thanks for the detailed report — this helped me find a real bug. The problem: in some cases, the contract generator wasn't creating new contracts after you completed the tutorial, so the pool looked empty. It's a WIP bug, not something you did wrong.

Fix is being tested now

Sorry for the frustration — this is exactly the kind of feedback that makes the game better.

ending is the best

First of all, thank you very much for the feedback.

1. I hadn't thought about it from that perspective; this was very helpful. I'm adding this to my development notes—in the next update, I'll ensure that bosses only appear from the edges.

2. Actually, not being able to collect all of them is a design choice. You can increase the collection radius for the bonuses around the BIOS using skills. Conversely, debuffs can reduce this collection radius or shorten the time before the bonuses disappear. However, a skill that increases the mouse collection radius could be a nice addition; I'll consider it.

3. I'll check this out; if there is a bug, it's something I can fix in the first update.

4. Ah, I changed the positions of the BIOS weapons a few times to balance the game. I think the old and new names got mixed up because of that. I'll fix it.

5. Again, I tweaked the colors and the number of debuffs multiple times here to optimize game balance. I'll review all the debuff cards again.

Note: Reaching level 26 is a great achievement—many players can't get past level 20—so congratulations. I'd also like to point out that, thanks to the roguelike-style debuff effects and the skill tree, you can progress to different levels in each run; that's actually my favorite part of the game. In other words, with the same skill tree setup you used to reach level 26, you might make it to level 30 in the next round, or you might get stuck at level 22.

Thanks again for all the feedback. You've spotted issues that are very useful for me to know, and I'll certainly consider your suggestions.

The game's AI is better than me :D (and I'm not exactly bad at FPS games)—I mean that as a compliment. It gave me an *EFT* kind of vibe. The weapon recoil and the feel of the hits are great, too. I realize it's a prototype, but it would be a shame if a game with this kind of feel remained limited to just a deathmatch mode. If I had to criticize one thing, it would be the walking animation; it feels a bit like sliding.

First of all, thank you very much for the feedback. The game is still in development; I am trying to add a lot of features, and I am focusing heavily on the game's economy. However, the economic balance gets disrupted with every new feature added. That is why your feedback is so valuable to me. I will certainly take your comments regarding bank loans into account. In fact, I will be releasing an update soon (within a day or two), and I would be delighted if you could test it again.

Thanks again for your kind words about the game.

That is actually the intended mechanic. You aren't allowed to use skill points during the game itself, but you can spend them after dying and see their effects in the next run.

My aim isn't to argue or deny my mistakes; this was the first idle-style game I’ve made, so naturally, I am reading and testing everything you’ve written. You mentioned progressing too quickly in the first section—I acknowledge that, though I don't necessarily view it as a mistake. I simply tried to design a game that starts fast but becomes more challenging later on. Of course, I’m not claiming it’s perfect; there are bound to be aspects you don't like.

Thank you very much. This is my first experience; I want to do my best and continue improving myself.

First of all, there is no upgrade in the game worth 10 bucks. Secondly, the click value is determined based on your current Gold Per Second. There are low-probability multipliers involved—such as x10, x25, or x1000—so if you're lucky, you can earn a value as high as 1,000 times the standard amount.

You may not have liked the game; I have no objection to that. I am open to all kinds of criticism and feedback.

First of all, I apologize for the bad experience you had. Thank you very much for your feedback, Fixed.

First of all, I apologize for the bad experience you had.

1. I am looking into the issue where the achievements window overflows the screen right away. I suspect it stems from differences in resolution settings, but I will investigate.

2. I believe the fact that you discovered the click mechanic later—and that the gameplay beyond the starting areas wasn't immediately intuitive—points to a lack of a proper tutorial; I will address this.

3. Most importantly, there is the prestige issue. Again, I apologize for this negative experience. This will be my top priority. Something like this definitely shouldn't have happened, and I can imagine how frustrating it must be. I believe I can resolve it quickly.

Thank you very much for your feedback. It was very important to me; having these errors identified and reported is invaluable.

It was tested by multiple people and on multiple occasions. The game features an offline earnings system, meaning it essentially keeps running even after you exit. You might be perceiving a balance issue simply because you overlooked this offline system.

By the way, I am open to all kinds of feedback, so please feel free to be candid.

I've reached the point of drawing mountains; I wonder how far it goes. I like it.

This is one of the best write-ups I've gotten on this game. Couple hours of play + this level of notes is genuinely rare — thanks for taking it seriously. Going through your list, because you deserve a real response and not just a "thanks!":

Drops on hover instead of click: yeah, you're right. Click-to-collect made sense in my head when I started, but watching people play it's clearly just friction. Changing to hover.

Pickups vs enemies confusion: agreed. I'm going to make pickups visually distinct (round shape, pulse ring, bigger icon) so they read as "collectible" at a glance instead of blending into the enemy swarm.

Turret level gradient: this is a great idea and I feel dumb for not thinking of it. Cyan → green → yellow → orange → red is exactly how it should read at a glance. Doing this.

LMB vs RMB: you're right, and other people have said the same. Building is basically "upgrading from 0 to 1" so it should be the same button. Moving everything to left-click. Right-click will become a secondary action later, but for now, one button.

Boss alert modal: fair point. 2.5 seconds feels long mid-run, especially when you're about to die and just want to keep playing. Cutting it to 1.2s and moving it to a banner at the top of the screen — no more pause, no more modal.

Trace Flood corruption: yeah, this one's broken in a way I didn't catch. It's supposed to be a threat but the extra kills just inflate everything.

Back Tax: good catch, it's a bug. The intent was "level up costs 30% of your money" but the formula ended up doing the opposite. Fixing.

Corruption balance in general: you've nailed the core issue. The threat stat was designed to correlate with impact, but the numbers got away from me. I'm doing a pass where every corruption gets re-rated based on actual run impact, not my initial guess. The -95% damage one is getting downgraded from "instant run-ender" territory (probably removing it or softening it dramatically). The -90 energy cap is going from Threat 2 to Threat 1. Etc.

Multishot energy trap noted. I'm going to soften the cost scaling so early multishot doesn't brick your energy economy. It'll still cost more, but not "3 bolts = 9 energy" brutal.

Bolt turret leading: you're right, and this is subtle. Core cannon doesn't need lead because it's shooting from the center at incoming enemies. Turrets on the ring get the same logic applied, which is wrong — they need to predict where the enemy will be. Adding lead calculation.

lot upgrade bug: confirmed, on my list. When you buy extra slots mid-run, they overlap. Fixing the realignment logic.

Letterbox click-through this one's from my recent resolution independence fix (v3.1.0). The letterbox bars sit outside the game area but clicks still register. Fixing by clamping input to the virtual play field.

Firefox FPS with boss I've heard this from one other person. It's the phosphor bloom post-processing buffer, which is GPU-heavy and Firefox handles it worse than Chrome. I'll add a fallback that disables bloom during boss fights if frame time spikes.

Auto buttons persistence the help page is lying. They reset per run intentionally — the reasoning was "each run should start manual, no inherited automation." But the help text says otherwise. Fixing the text.

"Level 24 wall with maxed laser" — this is the one that bothers me most. The difficulty curve is supposed to let a fully-maxed tree push past 30 on a good run. If it can't, the late game is effectively softlocked, and that's a design failure, not a player problem. I'm going to look at boss HP scaling past level 20 and the corruption tier cap.

Thanks again for this. Real talk: this is the kind of feedback that makes the next version dramatically better.

I’ve released a fix package; I believe the issue is resolved.

Thanks again for the feedback.

As far as I understand, you have encountered a problem. I apologize for this. It would be very helpful if you could tell me what the issue is, as it would give me the chance to fix it.