How do I fix bad frame pacing in Schedule I without lowering everything?

The average FPS in Schedule I looks fine, but the frame-time graph is messy and the game never feels properly smooth. Lowering every setting helps less than expected.

Which settings should be changed first, and how should the test be done so one bad option can actually be identified? Relevant areas are save files, Unity launch options, borderless mode, and crowded-area performance.

Start with a controlled frame-time test instead of dropping every preset.

1. Disable third-party overlays and recording tools for one run.
2. Use exclusive fullscreen if Schedule I supports it; otherwise test borderless with Windows fullscreen optimizations both on and off.
3. Set a frame cap a few FPS below the refresh-rate limit or below the FPS the PC can hold consistently.
4. Clear only the Windows DirectX shader cache after a driver change, then let the first launch finish rebuilding.
5. Watch GPU usage, VRAM use, and one or two busy CPU cores. High GPU use points to graphics load; low GPU use with one maxed core points to CPU or simulation load.
6. Reduce textures only when VRAM is close to full. Reduce crowd, view-distance, physics, or simulation settings when the CPU is the limit.

For Schedule I, pay special attention to save files, Unity launch options, borderless mode, and crowded-area performance. Change one item at a time and retest the same location. A stable cap usually feels better than a higher average with constant spikes.

One extra check: run the same scene twice after a reboot. If pass two is clearly smoother, shader or asset caching is involved. If both passes spike at the same camera angle while GPU usage drops, look at CPU or storage. Keep save files, Unity launch options, borderless mode, and crowded-area performance unchanged during the comparison so the result means something.