So Mesen a while back added run-ahead support, which theoretically makes it have the lowest input lag, so I was wondering if this feature is allowed. As far as I can tell it only runs ahead and doesn't remove any lag. The only reason I'm asking is since I practice and occasionally run on Mesen.

i too feel the mesen is somewhat better than nestopia so i have switched to it. Same question as unbones and just to clarify just incase i get a PB on it.

Based on a little research I did

" Run Ahead: Run ahead allows the reduction of input lag by the number of frames specified. CPU requirements increase proportionally with the number of run ahead frames specified. [...] Note for speedrunners: Using features such as run ahead to reduce lag typically counts as cheating for the purposes of speed running. " https://www.mesen.ca/docs/configuration/emulation.html

and

"With run-ahead, it is possible with an optimized setup for software emulation to have less latency than the original hardware!"

@Allenbot situation is being discussed. it is recommended you switch back to Nestopia for the time being.

It does remove lag which should definitely not be allowed, which seems to put Mesen in a similar position to RetroArch which afaik is disallowed primarily because it has this setting..

edit: Mesen has been banned!