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High School Years SimGuru/Maxis-Sourced Info
luthienrising
Posts: 37,628 Member
HIGH SCHOOL YEARS - SIMGURU/MAXIS-SOURCED INFO
Thanks in advance to everyone who helps source info! Thanks as well for keeping on topic here — these thread can sometimes move fast even on topic as marketing ramps up, depending on the marketing plan for a pack. This isn't a discussion or questions thread.
Need to discuss, though? For general excited anticipating together, follow @catloverplayer's countdown thread. @simgirl1010 has a great thread for positive pack discussion. Want to complain about the pack? Head to @Horrorgirl6's negative discussion thread.
Official Blog Posts, Trailers, & Livestream Links
Trailer:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1WXdXjROSbk
Blog Posts:
Livestreams:
Interviews about the sexual orientation patch:
and blog post https://www.ea.com/en-gb/games/the-sims/the-sims-4/news/sexual-orientation-in-the-sims-4
Thanks in advance to everyone who helps source info! Thanks as well for keeping on topic here — these thread can sometimes move fast even on topic as marketing ramps up, depending on the marketing plan for a pack. This isn't a discussion or questions thread.
Need to discuss, though? For general excited anticipating together, follow @catloverplayer's countdown thread. @simgirl1010 has a great thread for positive pack discussion. Want to complain about the pack? Head to @Horrorgirl6's negative discussion thread.
Official Blog Posts, Trailers, & Livestream Links
Trailer:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1WXdXjROSbkBlog Posts:
- Class is in Session in The Sims™ 4 High School Years Expansion Pack
- Thrifty and Thriving in The Sims 4 High School Years Expansion Pack: You Make The Sims™ with Depop Sellers
- starting with Molly:
- Sidney's post on after-school activities:
- Ash's post about the Trendi app and ThriftTea shop:
- Kevin's Instagram post about Wants, Fears, and the Socially Awkward Trait
- https://www.ea.com/en-gb/games/the-sims/the-sims-4/the-sims-4-high-school-years
- Preorder extras:
- items listed on the preorder pagePre-order or purchase the The Sims™ 4 High School Years Expansion Pack through September 8 to receive the Vibing Streamer Gear Digital Content – it’s everything a teen Sim needs to become a streamer or Simfluencer!
Livestreams:
- Base Game update stream: Friday, July 15, 2022 at 11am PDT
- see page 2 for notes from me and EgonVM!
Interviews about the sexual orientation patch:
and blog post https://www.ea.com/en-gb/games/the-sims/the-sims-4/news/sexual-orientation-in-the-sims-4
EA CREATOR NETWORK MEMBER — Want to be notified of patches, new Broken Mods threads, and urgent Sims 4 news? Follow me at https://www.patreon.com/luthienrising.
Post edited by luthienrising on
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GAMEPLAY
NOTE: For CAS-related gameplay and gameplay objects, head down to a later post below.
Overview
The Copperdale Womp Womps (Whomp Whomps?)
School nickname: Credits for Whomp Whomp design:
Its name is Frank??
The High School Day
Orientation can include selecting your own locker. School includes classes and exams. Getting lunch in the lunch room is shown. Students can get detention and be expelled. - Molly's Instagram post
- can go to school with multiple Sims in a household, not only one at a time; can pick to follow only some Teens; can send to school without following
- not built on active career base; all new
- design is Art Deco, but you can rebuild from scratch
- prom, career day, graduation take place in the Auditorium
- the T-Pose Challenge is a thing
- lockers can be decorated with a range of themes, buy a football there, freshen up, eat an apple, etc.
- bell rings a few minutes before class
- two classes per day in set subjects; can gain skill
- graduation isn’t guaranteed; you can drop out too
- if you don’t graduate, you could be locked out of some careers, might not be able to attend university, but you could get in on a skill, for example
- cafeteria food can be purchased
- wide range of pranks and skipping class can get you in trouble
- students from all worlds go to this high school
- there is an exam day
--- livestream
After School/Extracurricular Activities
shown in the trailer: cheerleading, American football
Cheerleading, Football, Chess, and Computer Clubs:
Livestreaming is an activity done at home. There is competition within the after-school activities. - Sidney's Instagram post
- clubs set up outside after school; can also join in career menu
- solo and group cheers; can practise the solo cheers
- you get a rival on the team
--- livestream
What's the T-pose challenge? It looks like this!
Major School Events
Prom
You can pick your own prom outfit.- Ash's Instagram post
- event with scoring
- Teens can couple-dance
- vote for prom jester & royalty at the prom
--- livestream
Can we go to prom only once?
Why is prom every Saturday?
Do I have to go to prom? No!
Graduation How long is a school year? One Teen lifespan
- you will sometimes get an event call
- if parents say you can’t go, you can sneak out with or without the window
- can use the window as a regular door too
- you can get caught sneaking out
--- livestream
Crushes and Relationships “Relationship Economy” (internal name) can lead to more drama
--- livestream
Puberty and Self-Discovery
Sims can treat their acne - Kevin's Instagram post
Traits
New trait: Socially Awkward - Kevin's Instagram post
How is Socially Awkward different from Loner?
WORLD (COPPERDALE) AND AMUSEMENT PARK GAMEPLAY
World with lot size, please? From a Maxis designer:
Build Collaborations
SImmer-built lots:
Other Collaborations:
The World
Copperdale, an old mining town
3 neighbourhoods:
1. School & Auditorium
2. Prescott Square
- two families live there, Ash and Noah’s family, a blended family, one works at school caf
- Prescotts include Molly and her mom the principal
- Thriftea store and Library
- Simmers made families as well as lots
3. Plubmite Cove
- Plumbite Pier has the rides; can ride alone or with friends or “do other slightly risque things in them”
- one lot is rental, swimming hole near there
- Price household, incl. Kevin, a foreign exchange student in lore, and “hopeless romantic”, and Sidney, popular kid exploring bisexuality and cheerleading, and Savannah, asexual “stream queen”
- park and world area by tunnel have hangout areas
- water around pier is swimmable
There’s an urban myth about a pond, and you can test it out.
--- livestream
The School
The school building is fully customizable:
Plumbite Pier/Amusement Park
CAS AND THRIFTEA GAMEPLAY
CAS
- CAS is broad to capture wide range of what teens’ might wear.
- Some pieces are unlocked in gameplay
--- livestream
The cheerleader uniforms are not all shiny.
Body Hair
Shown in the trailer: shaving
- some options are pack-only; others are patched in
- body hair growth is pack-only
- can shave, and specify where
- can shave a beard right off or just partly
--- livestream
Can female and feminine-framed Sims have body hair? Yes!
Can feminine-frame Sims have facial hair? Yes, if they're male:
Acne
- Tackled “in a lighter way”
- Breakouts happen
- No doctor visits, topical scrubs, but clean your face
--- livestream
4 new Aspirations, Teen-only
- unique reward trait for each
- Live Fast, Admired Icon, Goal Oriented… & one more I missed
--- livestream
new Likes & Dislikes: Fashion
--- livestream
new Trait: Socially Awkward i]note: there are others too[/i
- comfortable with close friends
--- livestream
How is Socially Awkward different from Loner?
Thiftea
Yes, the clothing place also is a boba tea place:
- what’s available in the store to make a look out of rotates
- from the clothes rack, put an outfit together with the options in CAS
- “You … have agency here to affect how the world looks”
- outfit is in your personal storage; you put it on from there
--- livestream
Can we use the boba tea anywhere? Yes!
Trendi
The Trendi app has analytics that tell you what trends are high and low. Trends have names, like Streetwear and Vaporware. You can buy outfits on Trendi. You can sell styles you create on Trendi, and set your price. You can also gift them, name them, and favorite them. Other Sims can buy and wear the outfit. Sometimes a "Trendsetter" will do that. - <a href="
- can see what’s trending in Trendi Analytics, and browse on your phone to buy
- if outfit sells, you mail it to the buyer
- can resell an outfit you buy
- outfits on Trendi also regularly change
--- livestream
CAS collaboration
Depop collaboration blog:
Thrifty and Thriving in The Sims 4 High School Years Expansion Pack: You Make The Sims™ with Depop Sellers
https://www.ea.com/en-gb/games/the-sims/the-sims-4/news/ymts-depop-sellers
BUILD/BUY AND GAMEPLAY OBJECTS
New Bed Functions
Curved Walls
- to be patched in: curved-wall rooms
- many but not all doors and windows will work on the curved wall
- can filter to which ones work
- 4 new curved windows are unique to the pack
--- livestream
Curved pools too? No.
PATCH: Sexual Orientation in CAS
- romantic attraction to men or women or neither; exploring romantically? yes/no (open to changing orientation); mess-around interest with men or women or neither
- not a finished system but intend to develop further
- why gender binary? technically, needs further changes to the 8-year-old game to remove that
- can change settings at any time
- can ask other Sims about their orientation
- default is no romantic attraction, exploring romantically, interested in either gender - how the base is before this patch, but now visible
--- livestream
Interviews about the sexual orientation patch:
and blog post https://www.ea.com/en-gb/games/the-sims/the-sims-4/news/sexual-orientation-in-the-sims-4
PATCH: Wants & Fears system
- will work differently from before
- some Wants & Fears will be pack-specific
- long-term, short-term, & reactionary (situational, e.g. go to gym & might want to then work out)
- related to Traits
- you can get a note suggesting that it’s a good day to confront a fear
- if you fear fires & fight one, you might conquer that fear; or you might never conquer a particular fear
--- livestream
Do we have to use Wants and Fears? No!
How many are there? Lots!
MISCELLANEOUS
Premades
Molly is a descendant of the town founder:
and the daughter of the principal - Molly's Instagram post
Sidney has a sister, Savannah - <a href="
They're twins:
Ash and Noah are step-siblings
This doesn't mean that CAS relationships were updated
Kevin is Socially Awkward and lives with Sidney and Savannah
Noah, the trailer Sims, will be on the Gallery:
Social Bunny
Social Bunny is a new social media app. - <a href="
- can post about stuff you’ve just been doing
- other Sims also post, and you can read those (some are cringy, some are in Simlish, some are puns…)
- can respond to posts with freezer bunny emojis
- can DM (friendly/flirty/mean/funny) and tag Sims
--livestream
PATCH: Phone Update
- all old interactions there, but UI changed to be more icon-based
- customization easier & more options
- Teens use phones a lot compared to older Sims now
--livestream
New Deaths
New Deaths? Yes! But not from boba tea
New Careers
Are the new Streamer and Simfluencer careers Teen-only? No!
- there are new lifestyle and gaming streams to watch --livestream
-
Influences
Music
Trailer song:
What's Not in the Pack
Are there cars? No.
Though participating in these discussions helps me start out the pack with some info I can then use to help other players.
But for now, official community blog! https://www.ea.com/games/the-sims/the-sims-4/news/high-school-years-guided-tour
You may read it through, but I'll bring out some interesting info.
The livestream takes place on July 15, 2022.
The school building is fully customizable:
Thriftea
Yes, the clothing place also is a boba tea place:
Its name is Frank??
Lot pics:
source: The Sims's twitter account in this thread: https://twitter.com/TheSims/status/1542524507486752770
influences?
Trailer song:
Thrifty and Thriving in The Sims 4 High School Years Expansion Pack: You Make The Sims™ with Depop Sellers
https://www.ea.com/en-gb/games/the-sims/the-sims-4/news/ymts-depop-sellers
Thriftea
Didn't realize this had been posted already about the lake name in the blog so I deleted this.
Would be nice if he answered the question?
Some questions they aren’t answering until the livestream since that’s what that’s for pretty much 🤷♀️ Idk it does seem like we can make our own schools based on the fact that the two schools in the trailer are different levels (one has 3 floors while the other only has two). My main question is if we can put it in other worlds.
Good news, it's only a week away! Bad news, 10 days to go.
One thing the "take a bulldozer to Copperdale High" tweet tells me is this: it's a single "active career" special lot. It also tells us we can edit it, but not if it requires cheats or not. Just like the hospital, police station, science lab, and movie studio. Will it follow trends and be hidden or be visible on the map and visitable by sims? That we will learn in the livestream (they usually show off the world maps).
Still yes, it does seem less tweets than Werewolves game pack got before release... Ah, we'll wait for the livestream.
While it might be true, there isn't exact info about this. We can't speculate on this thread, but there are other threads where it can be done in.
Cheerleading, Football, Chess, and Computer Clubs:
@catloverplayer thank you!! I didn't think to look for info on the weekend!
starting with Molly:
Premades:
Molly is a descendant of the town founder:
and the daughter of the principal - Molly's Instagram post
High School Life
Orientation can include selecting your own locker. School includes classes and exams. Getting lunch in the lunch room is shown. Students can get detention and be expelled. - Molly's Instagram post