I posted a concept in a speculation and rumor thread about the pack that I would really like to see. I’m reposting with edits here! I really think they’re going to do something with high school before The Sims 4 is finished. People have been wanting this for a while.
I’m dying (lol) for a big Happy Haunts EP too!!! I really want my Sims to be psychic and/or working with Grim. I think that would be incredible!
High School EP Concept
The High School wouldn’t be fully active. I believe that, while the pack wouldn’t be fully *immersive,* I believe that the developers would be nervous that the gimmick would lose its charm after some time. However, there would be more things to do in class “stare out the window,” “sneak onto your phone,” and more that can potentially get your phone taken away, and/or lead to embarrassed moodlets. There will also be more pop ups that have lasting consequences or can lead to you meeting a new friend or getting into unexpected situations... or detention!
What should be active instead are extracurricular activities, as well as a system I call Moments That Matter: important moments of a young Sims life. Things like confessing to your crush, asking a love interest to prom, and other moments that can create certain lasting sentiments within your teen. There are also new text prompts, and some that can create sentiments, more emotional buffs, and new friendships/rivalries with other sims.
In High School, slightly similarly to The Sims 3: University Life, there are groups: Popular, Athetes, Nerds, and Misfits. These are different from groups in Get Together in that you cannot create your own, nor can you set any activity. You have to do certain activities, have certain skills, and impress them to be on their radars. Misfits are the easiest to join, but they are the most difficult socially. Popular kids tend to avoid them as much as possible, and it’s not advantageous for anyone of a higher social standing to interact with them for a longer period of time.
If you want to impress and get your foot in the door for one of these groups, the best way is to join an extracurricular activity. There are multiple clubs and sports to join, as well as Drama Club now being active. With Nerds joining crew and tech, and Popular kids killing each other to be cast as the leading role. There will be a goofy auto-generated play, and a humorously over dramatic director to lead your Sims to victory. Once the rehearsals are over, Sim families can go see their hard work. This reintroduces the camcorder from Sims 3: Generations, so your sim parents can go all Regina George’s mom in the audience.
There is also cast parties to have afterward (for anyone unsure of how wacky these can be, please check out the SNL Skit: The Crucible Cast Party.)
The more socially advantageous, the more likely the club is locked by tryouts and auditions. Your Sims have to get their skill on, and cross their fingers to make sure they don’t end up humiliating themselves in front of their peers.
If that’s too much commitment, your Sims can throw raging house parties to impress the popular kids (or to just raise your reputation in school in general) or, if they’re courting the Nerds, do a Plumbobs and Llamas Campaign session. The higher your writing skill, the more likely you are to create a killer story to immerse the players. Sometimes, your players might even think they’re in the story themselves! Let’s just hope if you’re throwing a rager, that you can clean up in time or that your parents don’t come home at a bad time. You could risk humiliation, or worse... grounding.
Another group gathering is sleepovers! Child and teen Sims can start their own, or be invited to one autonomously! Sims can watch the new tv channel for them to watch (a parody of the CW shows like Riverdale) and share secrets and gossip. There are more sleeping bags, as well as pillow fights and enough snacks to get into a food coma. Sims can log their crush and a rival. A rival can be in their crushes affections, or just academically or in their extra curricular activities. A sim can choose these randomly, or a simmer can choose for them. If you’re not into that, you can simply turn it off! Eavesdropping is a thing sims can do! So if you’re sharing your crushes at a sleepover be warned about a sneaky sibling or a loose lipped friend. With Parenthood installed, your Teen sim can talk about their crush or rival in their journal, and have that leak too from nosy friends or siblings!
Sims (child and teen) have group projects. With teens having the stereotypical baby project among others. Teen sims can bribe or beg their teacher to place them in a group with their crush, or simply shoot their shot and ask to be in a group with them. I can see the baby project as being hilarious btw.
There are also tests, essays, and exams will pop up occasionally and Sims should definitely level up the particular skill and study. Sims can study in groups to prepare. If they bomb they can try to hide their bad grades, or attempt to modify their results— either by hacking into the school or by fiddling with the written grade on paper— to varying success. They can also get help from the new Llamafy feature. It’s a music streaming platform where Sims can choose their favorite songs, put them into playlists, and ascribe a particular emotional buff to their playlist of choice. This can be focusing, inspirational, etc!
Prom is also an active event, with tacky themed decor, punch (that sims can prank), and plenty of dresses and general formal apparel for teens! Sims can also be nominated for prom court, and can rig the vote (but potentially be found out for doing so.) Teen sims can prom-pose (to potentially disasterous consequences.)
Misfits can sneak out of their houses and go on late night adventures. Just hope they don’t get caught by the police! They also can write about their experiences— either as poetry or as songs. If they have enough musical skill in an instrument, they can start bands with other sims and audition for the school talent show or perform in venues across town. They are also more inclined to throw pranks on annoying neighbors, siblings, or other high school groups. If they aggravate another group too much— they’re could be an all out group warfare! Group Warfare can happen between any group at any time, and the battlefield can be online or in the cafeteria with food fights!
Plumbook is a new feature in game where Sims can (it would be optional) create their own profile. Sims can upload their Simstagram selfies, add a profile picture, and release their recorded videos from the camcorder too! Sims’s emotional blog posts will be uploaded onto Plumbook, and certain Sims will like and even respond. You can also access other Sims’s profiles and post comments on their posts or wall depending on the Sims current emotion and relationships to that sim. This can cause an all-out internet brawl!
Sims will also post on your wall too about your Sims goings on around the town/city. Sometimes Sims will ask you about rumors about you (either true or false) and could
potentially reveal something embarrassing to the denizens of the interwebs. So try to make sure you don’t have bladder failure in public! This will also feed into the gossip system, which adds public sentiments (connected to your Sims reputation if you have Get Famous installed.) If a rumor is proven untrue, you can have the sentiment removed quickly. But if you’re caught cheating on your spouse, expect your house to get egged and have difficulty interacting with other Sims for a while!
Sims can also text prompts to their friends like, “what’s going on around town,” “any gossip I should know about,” or “any parties tonight?” Sims can also ask about Sims that way, if Get Together is installed, play matchmaker via texting, or ask another Sim their opinion about their crush or current relationship partner.
Comments
I second this