Question Do sprites jitter in 2D when moving? Is that how it's supposed to be?

I'm creating a 2D platformer or runner-type game, which means there's a player and platforms in the scene. The platforms jitter when moving. I'm implementing movement in every possible way:

1. Moving the player and having a CinemachineVirtualCamera follow it (when using main.camera to follow, the result is the same in all cases). I'm moving using rb.velocity or transform.position with *Time.deltaTime and *Time.FixedDeltaTime, both with and without them. I'm trying this in FixedUpdate, Update, and LateUpdate. The player is floating in the air and doesn't touch the platform. The result is the same: jittering.
   
   
2. Moving the platforms while the player is floating in the air and not moving, and the camera follows accordingly. I'm moving using rb.velocity or transform.position with *Time.deltaTime and *Time.FixedDeltaTime, both with and without them. I'm trying this in FixedUpdate, Update, and LateUpdate. The result is the same: jittering.
   
   
3. Creating a new project. Adding 1 object and writing a script:
   

Code (CSharp):

1. public float horizontalMove = 10f;
2.  
3.  
4.  
5. Rigidbody2D rb;
6.  
7.  
8.  
9. void Awake()
10.  
11. {
12.  
13.     Application.targetFrameRate = 60;
14.  
15.     rb = GetComponent<Rigidbody2D>();
16.  
17.     rb.constraints = RigidbodyConstraints2D.FreezeRotation;
18.  
19. }
20.  
21.  
22.  
23. private void FixedUpdate()
24.  
25. {
26.  
27.     rb.velocity = new Vector2(horizontalMove, rb.velocity.y);
28.  
29. }

When moving, the sprite sometimes jitters on both the computer and the phone.



Application.targetFrameRate = 60; the result is the same with other values, like 120. Quality Vsync Count = Don't Sync for Android; changing this setting doesn't affect the result. Fixed Timestep = 0.0143 or 0.02 or even 0.002 doesn't affect the result. Disabling Event System and Canvas also doesn't affect the result.



After recording a video at 60fps from the computer, I noticed the following: During smooth movement, the sprites should shift by 1*N pixels each frame. For example, a shift of 10 pixels should happen every frame: 10-10-10-10-10-10-10-10-10. However, sometimes the change in position isn't drawn, and then it catches up. This means that the shift doesn't occur every frame; sometimes there's no shift, and then it shifts two positions: 10-10-10-10-10-00-20-10-10-10. This appears as jittering. And this doesn't happen with a constant periodicity; sometimes it occurs, meaning it might jerk once in 5 seconds, and then blink 5 times in 2 seconds.



This is evident on the computer and in the build on the phone.



However, when I touch the phone screen, everything moves smoothly, without any jittering!!!



The jittering returns only after releasing the touch. Touches aren't handled anywhere.



What am I missing? What else can I try? Please help me understand what to do or if this behavior is normal.

 

Jittering is not normal behavior. Try removing the Application.targetFrameRate in Awake, ive never seen a new dev use that. Your framerate will be fine if you're making a platformer. Also, try multiplying your horizontalMove amount by Time.fixedDeltaTime where you are changing the velocity.

 

I removed Application.targetFrameRate = 60; - besides the rare stutter of a lagging frame, a constant jitter appeared when building for the phone, making the visuals flicker. That's why I added it back into the code. Initially, the settings are FixedTimestep = 0.02, Maximum FixedTimestep = 0.33. With these settings, the game displays at 30 fps on the phone and jitters even more than with FixedTimestep = 0.0143, Maximum FixedTimestep = 0.0143, or FixedTimestep = 0.01. That's why I set Application.targetFrameRate = 60; which solved the issue with the constant jitter, but the problem of occasional jitter remains, occurring at irregular intervals. Time.fixedDeltaTime - didn't make any difference.

 

Interpolation - the result is the same, extrapolation - the result is the same, Transform.position with *Time.deltaTime - the result is the same

 

Turning off 'Use incremental GC' didn't help.

Code (CSharp):

1. void Start()
2.     {
3.         GarbageCollector.GCMode = GarbageCollector.Mode.Disabled;
4.     }

- didn't help.
Image jittering continues to occur no matter what I do.

This result is consistent across an empty project, on two computers, two phones, and three versions of Unity. Creating a new project, adding one sprite, one script - the same jitters occur whether using physics or transform. Strangely, when touching the phone screen, they disappear, and everything moves smoothly, with shifts happening every frame. If I keep my finger on the phone screen constantly, everything works perfectly!