> you get a set number of cycles regardless of the speed of the host computer
If you look at all the PICO-8 clones/inspired platforms without such a restriction, it's hard to overestimate how prescient this was. Basically all of them had raytraced 3D games in their 200x200 pixel box in week 1, which regardless of palette limitations completely kills the 8-bit vibe for me.
Also, this restriction ensures that all the newest PICO-8 games also run on the very old PCs that children might have access to, which I think was great for the health of the platform.
If you look at all the PICO-8 clones/inspired platforms without such a restriction, it's hard to overestimate how prescient this was. Basically all of them had raytraced 3D games in their 200x200 pixel box in week 1, which regardless of palette limitations completely kills the 8-bit vibe for me.
Also, this restriction ensures that all the newest PICO-8 games also run on the very old PCs that children might have access to, which I think was great for the health of the platform.