A new Sims 4 high school-centric features for teens, including activities both before and after school. Set to release July 28, High School Years will be the first full Expansion Pack released for The Sims 4 in over a year.
Students will be able to attend daily high school in the new Sims 4 DLC, with players choosing whether they wish to follow their Sims each day. The EP aims to offer a comprehensive adolescent experience, including academics like classes and exams, extracurriculars like sports teams and clubs, and special events like prom and graduation. The High School Years Expansion Pack will come with the new world of Copperdale, a small lakeside town. During a recent preview of The Sims 4 High School, it was revealed players will only be able to place and utilize a high school within Copperdale, meaning no teens from other areas can attend active school.
Well-known Sims 4 modder ZerbuTabek (via SimsCommunity) recently shared their intentions for the game on Twitter, stating that they will make placing high schools in worlds besides Copperdale possible. Zerbu followed up with more clarification to avoid too much fan expectation for the mod when it first launches, stating that, "at first, you'll only be able to change the location of the school, not have multiple." However, the creator acknowledged the desire for more than one high school per save, saying that it's something they'll investigate as well as time goes on.
Modder Zerbu is no stranger to schools in the popular simulation game, previously changing The Sims 4's rabbit hole-style schools into an active experience long before the official Expansion Pack had even been announced with their own mod entitled Go To School. The creator is a reliable resource within the game's community, and this new promise of flexible locations for high schools is undoubtedly a great relief to many fans who were disappointed by the lack of options the game would come with for placement. Typically, when a new usable building like restaurants or spas have been introduced into the Sims 4 universe, they can be placed by players in any world. It's unclear exactly why The Sims 4 High School will be different in this regard, and the precedent set by previous DLCs made the announcement of the limitation shocking for many fans.
Although there's still a lot of exciting additions coming to The Sims 4 soon, both within the High School Years Expansion Pack and through free base game updates, such as the game receiving The Sims 2's Wants and Fears system, freedom of design has always been a large part of the franchise that many fans feel has been undercut by this limitation. The fact that teens in other worlds will still disappear in the morning for school as they always have, while Copperdale teens get a comprehensive experience, doesn't sit well with many players. However, as has been a constant since the beginning of the franchise, Sims 4 modders remain a pillar of the community that continue to add in important features not included by EA.
Source: ZerbuTabek/Twitter (via SimsCommunity)