Gaming
run-ahead
What does run-ahead mean?
An emulation feature that runs the game several frames ahead and rolls back, so your inputs register sooner. It strips out the input lag that was baked into the original game, sometimes making the emulated version feel snappier than real hardware.
"Crank run-ahead to two frames and Super Mario World suddenly controls like a modern platformer, zero mush."
Origin
Popularised by RetroArch/libretro (1.7.2, 2018); uses per-frame save states to compute future frames and roll back, cutting the game's baked-in input latency.
Frequently asked questions
Does run-ahead need a powerful machine?
Yeah. It re-emulates future frames every frame, so the more frames you run ahead, the harder your CPU has to work to keep full speed.
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