I have this same exact problem. Crackling in the first few minutes and then it fixes itself. Only began on the 3.5 update. I’m on Stable btw
The update in the game’s beta channel is supposed to help CPU and GPU performance a lot according to Digital Foundry. They just recently released a video on it. I don’t think the update has gone live yet for full release but if you want to test yourself you can select the beta update in the game’s Steam properties.
I feel like with that update and the performance improvements of SteamOS 3.5, it may be a better experience but I can’t confirm it personally.
Don’t know why you got a downvote. I have this question too. I didn’t realize it was dock-dependent. I thought as long as the TV supports VRR I’m good but this makes it sound like you need to have a dock that supports it.
Thanks for the settings. That would be great if the devs could get this game to run better so thanks for asking them. Amazing game but I was definitely disappointed by the steam deck performance when I tried it before. Granted, it may be better with SteamOS 3.5 and other game updates. It could easily be my most played Steam Deck game if it ran well.