Drop/stuttering FPS every ~8 minutes in Single Player vs 7 AI

Age of Empires II: DE II - Report a Bug
1

:play_button: GAME INFORMATION

:backhand_index_pointing_down: These details are CRITICAL; DO NOT skip them or your issue may not be reviewed.

  • GAME BUILD #: 180059
  • GAME PLATFORM: Steam
  • OPERATING SYSTEM: Windows 11

:play_button: ISSUE EXPERIENCED

:backhand_index_pointing_down: DESCRIBE THE ISSUE IN DETAIL (below). LIMIT TO ONE BUG PER THREAD.

I am experiencing a consistent and significant FPS drop/stutter in Single Player games that occurs at the exact same time mark: approximately 08:12 and then recurs every 7 to 8 minutes thereafter throughout the match.. This happens reliably in 4v4 matches (Me vs 7 AI). Notably, this issue is not present when playing the same 4v4 setup in a Multiplayer lobby.

Additionally, I have observed that this performance hit is directly scalable: the more AI players I add to the game, the more severe and brusque the FPS drop becomes at that specific time mark.

:play_button: FREQUENCY OF ISSUE

:backhand_index_pointing_down: How often does the issue occur? CHOSE ONE; DELETE THE REST !

  • 100% of the time / matches I play (ALWAYS)

:play_button: REPRODUCTION STEPS

:backhand_index_pointing_down: List CLEAR and DETAILED STEPS we can take to reproduce the issue ourselves… Be descriptiv e!

  1. Launch a Single Player match (Standard Game).

  2. Set up a 4v4 match (1 Human vs 7 AI).

  3. Play the game; observe the first major stutter at approximately 08:12.

  4. Continue playing and observe that the stutter repeats consistently every 7–8 minutes (e.g., at ~16:00, ~24:00, etc.).

  5. Test with a different number of AI; the severity of the drop increases with more AI players.

:play_button: EXPECTED RESULT

:backhand_index_pointing_down: What was SUPPOSED to happen if the bug you encountered were not prese nt?

The game should run smoothly with a stable frame rate throughout the entire match, without any FPS drops or stuttering at specific time intervals, regardless of the number of AI opponents or the game mode. AI processing cycles should not interfere with the game’s rendering performance.

:play_button: IMAGE

:backhand_index_pointing_down: ALWAYS attach a PICTURE (.jpg, .png, .gif) or VIDEO (.mp4, YouTube link) that highlights the prob lem.

N/A (The issue is a periodic performance stutter that requires real-time monitoring to observe, rather than a static visual bug.)

:play_button: GAME FILES (SAVE / RECORDING)

:backhand_index_pointing_down: Attach a SAVE GAME (.aoe2spgame) or GAME RECORDING (.aoe2record) of the match where you encountered the issue. Link it below if using an external file ser vice.

N/A (Providing a standard .aoe2record or .aoe2spgame file will not show the FPS drop, as these files only store simulation data, not performance metrics. The issue would only be visible through a video recording captured with third-party software (like OBS or NVIDIA ShadowPlay) while playing a live match.)