Spring Arm Stuttering

Development Asset Creation
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1

Hello we are having this problem with spring arm and Camera: when FPS are not stable we can see a remarkable stuttering with the camera that does not follow perfectly his actor.

We tried with a new blank project and the issue persists. It happens with both the following logics (we tried both with tick, async physicTick and both applying a force or simply modifying the transofrm in every combination):

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Can you please help us out?

Thanks

2

Steps to Reproduce

  • Create an Empty map
  • Create an Actor with a spring arm and a camera attached
  • Apply a Force to the actor
  • Notice how the spring camera stutters when fps are not stable
3

Hello [mention removed]​,

Thanks for the report. In UE 5.5, I followed your steps and forced uneven frames, but I’m only noticing the visual artifacts due to the cube stepping forward between frames. This also happens without a Spring Arm.

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Is this the stutter you’re referring to, or is the issue different? If it’s different, could you please share a minimal repro project to reproduce this locally?

Best,

Francisco

4

Hello, I’ll upload a video to better understanding the issue. I’ ll also try to upload a repro project as soon as I can.

Thanks

5

Here is the Test Project

6

Hello [mention removed]​,

Thanks for the video and the repro project. This stutter in the Spring Arm only shows up when the Camera Lag setting is enabled.

If you require this setting, there are a few additional settings you can modify to reduce the stutter during uneven frame times:

  • Set the Spring Arm component Tick Group to Post Physics so it reads the current frame’s physics pose (after your Async AddForce).
  • Reducing the Camera Lag Max Distance (e.g 200-400) or increase the Camera Lag Speed. Very large Max Distance and low Lag Speed can keep the camera trailing and make hitch-induced stutter more visible.
  • Enable Use Camera Lag Substepping and set Camera Lag Max Time Step below your typical hitch (e.g 0.008 - 0.012). Without substepping, a large hitch produces one big interp step (visible jump), but with substepping, that long delta time is split into multiple smaller steps within the same frame.

Additionally, you can enable Draw Debug Lag Markers to analyze the spring lag behavior: a red line indicates clamping at Max Distance. You’ll notice that when clamped at Max Distance, the perceived stutter is reduced significantly.

Please let me know if these settings help your case.

Best,

Francisco

7

Hello francisco, I tried all of your advices but the issue is lowered but still present. Is it there any other improvement we can try to totally eliminate the problem?

Thanks

8

Hello [mention removed]​,

Following additional testing, I found that disabling the “Tick Physics Async” option in Project Settings → Physics significantly improves the result when the Cube is moved using Add Force.

With this setting disabled, I tested your repro project in UE 5.5 using the CameraTest pawn and the issue appears to be resolved even with fluctuating frame rates (unstable FPS around 45-55). I also want to point out something I missed in my previous reply: the repro project you shared includes a custom class inheriting from SpringArmComponent that currently causes a compilation error. Since it isn’t being used, I commented it out so the project could compile and run.

I’ve also noticed the stutter is completely eliminated as soon as the Camera Lag Max Distance is reached. Please try reducing this value to around 100-200 and keep a relatively low Camera Lag Speed (e.g. 10) so the camera reaches the max lag distance more quickly. If the actor will move continuously at very high speeds, it’s better to reach that limit sooner.

These are the Spring Arm settings I used during testing.

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I’m also attaching a recording of the result in the repro project with movement done via Event Tick and Set Actor Transform.

Please try these adjustments first in your repro project along with the previous suggestions and let me know if this resolves the issue on your end.

Best,

Francisco