Issue:
I experience recurring frametime spikes and visibly uneven camera movement in The Crucible. While panning with either the keyboard or edge scrolling, the camera briefly stalls and then jumps forward.
The attached recording shows the issue alongside a frametime graph. During several sections, the stalls occur approximately once per second. Frametime spikes also occur while the camera is stationary.
So far, I have noticed this issue on multiple maps in The Crucible. It persists with all mods disabled and also occurs during normal gameplay with OBS completely closed.
Changing the resolution, graphical settings, FPS cap, or enabling/disabling V-Sync, G-SYNC and VRR does not eliminate it.
Two observations may help narrow down the cause:
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When optional objectives appear one by one on the left side of the screen, I notice a spike accompanying their appearance.
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At the end of the recorded scenario, when the gameplay HUD disappears, the recurring large spikes stop and subsequent camera panning becomes noticeably smoother. The performance overlay remains active.
This may be related to objective updates, the HUD, or periodic scenario logic. However, the scenario state changes at the same time as the HUD disappears, so this observation does not establish which component causes the spikes.
Trigger Event:
Playing an active Crucible scenario. The recurring stutter is particularly noticeable when continuously panning the camera. Additional spikes are noticeable when optional objectives appear.
Repro Steps:
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Start a scenario in The Crucible with mods disabled.
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During active gameplay, continuously pan the camera using edge scrolling or the keyboard.
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Observe recurring brief camera stalls and uneven movement. If a frametime graph is available, observe the corresponding spikes.
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Watch for spikes as optional objectives appear on the left side of the screen.
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Keep the frametime graph visible as the scenario ends and the gameplay HUD disappears.
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Compare the graph and subsequent camera movement before and after this transition. In the attached recording, the recurring large spikes stop after the transition.
I have reproduced the gameplay stutter on multiple Crucible maps and across the settings combinations described above.
Expected Result:
Camera movement should remain smooth, without recurring frametime spikes during gameplay or when objectives update.
Additional Context:
I have also reported camera micro-stutter in Age of Empires II: DE, but with a different trigger: edge scrolling becomes uneven when a unit or building is selected and is smooth when nothing is selected. I do not know whether the issues are related: