What you need to know
- A new update for VR city management game Little Cities is now available on Meta Quest and Quest 2 headsets.
- The game now supports hand tracking, allowing players to put down the controllers and play with their hands.
- The next major update for the game is coming in September.
Cozy city simulator Little Cities has received an update that gives the possibility to put down the Meta Quest controllers and play the entire game with your hands. This is the first update to the virtual reality title since its launch last May and also includes some bug fixes and improvements.
The update, affectionately called “Big Hands in Little Cities” in the patch notes (opens in new tab), adds Hand Tracking 2.0 support to the game, allowing players to build cities and operate menus using only their hands. The Hand Tracking option must be enabled manually from the Meta Quest or Quest 2 settings to make it work in the game. There is also an option to enable automatic hand tracking switch, where the headset automatically switches between the two inputs depending on whether the controllers are raised or lowered.
Developer Purple Yonder showcased some of the hand tracking in the video below, allowing players to select options from the bubble menus, build roads, and raise multiple buildings at once.
It’s time! 🙌 Little Cities has launched its first FREE update ‘Big Hands in Little Cities’ where players can get hands-on with advanced Hand Tracking 2.0 support. Find it here in the @MetaQuestVR store👉https://t.co/ bKXfyMH4Wj#HandTracking #VR #indiegame pic.twitter.com/TGj4QKfMANJune 30, 2022
The update fixes a few visual bugs when upgrading from the medical center to the hospital, tutorial level hint arrows, and sandstorm effects after loading a save game. It also added new hints to the tutorial level and improved the vehicle’s AI to reduce traffic problems.
Publisher nDreams revealed in the patch notes that the next substantial update to the game will be coming in September. It will be called “Pretty Little Cities” and will add new cosmetics along with some suggestions from the community.
Little Cities has quickly become one of the best Oculus Quest 2 games with its intuitive approach to city management and the new hand tracking support makes it even easier. The engaging, yet relaxed gameplay garnered our Oculus Quest Game of the Week when it launched in May last year.
MetaQuest 2
The Meta Quest 2 offers more power, resolution and flexibility over the original virtual headset. It’s a complete, all-in-one headset that doesn’t need to be tethered to a PC or smartphone to work.