EVERYTHING in the new world from The Sims 4: High School Years
With every new Sims pack I feel like I always end up looking forward to the new world the most. It's just so fun to finally have new lots to visit, and more townies to meet, and more places to build and stuff. And also, all of the newer packs have had such immersive worlds because they've been having simmers do the builds so they're a lot better. And I've got early access to the new High School pack right now, and so obviously I want to go through the world and kind of explore it together.
Real quick, I want to give a thank you to the EA Creator Network for giving me early access to this pack. We've got like, mega early access right now, which is why they have this watermark floating around my screen. They basically added a second version of The Sims into my Origin library so I've got like, my regular Sims game with all of my regular saves and packs and all of that, and then I've got this version of The Sims 4 that just has the base game, the newest update, and then this new pack. They used to fly us out to California to play the new expansion packs early, but obviously with COVID, they can't do that, so they've been doing this instead. So for the next like, four days, I've got early access to the pack and I'm trying to play as much as I can while I can before I lose access.
I'll obviously get access back again when the pack actually comes out, but this is like, a temporary early access, like, almost like, beta thing, I guess. So this video's not like, sponsored, I'm not being paid or anything, I just have the pack early. Also this watermark, I didn't put that there, it's just on the game. I'm always worried people are gonna think that I'm like, being weird and trying to make sure nobody can take screenshots of my video by putting my name on it. No, I didn't do that, the game just has it because it's an early access build, okay? All right, okay, now we're all on the same page, we now get to explore the new world of Copperdale. Now I will tell you, I did look.
Sometimes I try and do these like a surprise, I react to them for the first time, I couldn't contain myself, okay? I had to look. But I haven't looked at everything, just some things, okay? So this is the new map view, you can see we've got three new neighborhoods and we also have 12 new lots, only one of them is empty. The world description says once renowned for its booming mining industry, the town of Copperdale, quaint and historic, lay nestled on the banks of Lake Lazuli. Founder Jasper Prescott had foraged this land for its treasured crystals, hoping Copperdale would one day blossom into a prosperous community for families and travelers alike. And though the minecarts reached an eternal halt, the townspeople continued to flourish.
With academics and adventures abound, Copperdale is now home to many families seeking a small town life with big city dreams for themselves and their teens. Together they've unearthed a gem far more precious than before, beloved high school memories. So there's kind of like a town square section over here, this area up here is the high school, and then down here across the river, we've got like, the pier and some more houses and stuff.
I feel like we should start in the town square, this Prescott Square says named after Copperdale's founder Jasper Prescott, this town square is a quaint hub for all after-school hangouts. For the fashion forward teens, Eloise Hiddlestick's well-known Thriftea shop is the spot to grab a bubble tea and explore the latest trends. Lakeview Library is perfect for academically minded teens to squeeze in a cram sesh or find a study buddy. Representing Copperdale's historical legacy, this square is central to all its residents.
Some say they've seen the ghost of Jasper lurking near his old dwelling, the Boomsbuff Mystery House. So the place is haunted, and I feel like I kind of want to go into the thrift shop first because that's like, the new thing. That's a new lot type by the way, you can build your own thrift and bubble tea store if you so desire. I will say, I'm not actually sure which simmers built what lots, but I do know the names of all three who worked on the pack so I'm going to link their channels down below. And once I find out who built what, I'll also update the description box, I just am recording this super early so I don't really know who did what yet.
I do know that my friend MsGryphi built this lot though. You can kind of look around and see the town square in this area, it looks so cool! Also the lighting is very harsh in this world I've noticed. You can kind of tell right now, but like, all the different times of day have very harsh lighting.
I think the evening especially is quite harsh. The morning is just dark, and then the afternoon is decent. We'll explore some more around once we go into a Sim's household, but this here is the boba shop. I think the exterior is so cute and it looks really realistic to me, like I can totally see myself actually visiting this place in real life.
When you come inside, over here there's like, some table seating and stuff. This is the counter where you can actually buy the boba, and then over here we've got like a little thrift shop counter. There's also all these like, thrifting clothing racks and stuff, and then in here we've got some changing rooms. Now keeping in mind, this is like, functional gameplay, like, you can come here and actually thrift in this store and you can also actually buy boba and like, sit and eat and drink. There's a bathroom right here, there's like a little kitchen space, I don't know, I think this place is so cute.
It also has an upstairs that you can access from this back staircase, and then it looks kind of like an event sort of space from the inside. Like, you could like, rent it out and then update it to fit your needs for whatever you're trying to plan, party-wise, so that's kind of cool. In case you're curious, here are the lot requirements for that new thrift and bubble tea store. And again, that's a new lot type that you can build anywhere if you want. Next we have the Lakeview Library. You have to have a library in the high school town, they can't not do this, you know? But I am obsessed with the exterior, it looks so grand, it's so cool.
And then when you actually come inside, I feel like it's even cooler. There's obviously some tables and some bookshelves and stuff, there's like a little desk sort of area back here, there's a bathroom downstairs. And then upstairs we've got like, some more seating. There's a couple computers and stuff, but there's also a little kids hangout in here, and I love that that was included.
This is probably my new favorite library in the entire game, like if I need my Sims to come to a library, I'm probably gonna come to this one. Sidenote: there is a graveyard next door. I'm just pointing that out, there is in fact a graveyard next to the library. I feel like there's probably some lore here that I haven't uncovered yet, but I assume this is where that ghost comes into play. I'm using my critical thinking skills, I'm putting two and two together, and that just feels like, it makes sense. There's also a starter home in this area, I guess it's like a little bit more than a starter home, but I will say, with Cottage Living, the same thing happened and by the time the pack had actually come out for everybody, the price had changed.
I think they changed the cost of like, the actual lot to make it fit as a starter home, but here's the starter home. I feel like it fits in with the town, like this downtown area, really well. It's also even got like, a backyard, which I feel like you don't often get to have in starter homes. On the inside, there's like a little living space, we've got the kitchen and dining space, and then just the one bedroom and bathroom upstairs. I won't lie, I will probably bulldoze this, not because the house is bad, it's just like, such a prime location for a community lot.
I feel like I'll probably put a restaurant or a cafe or something here once the pack is actually out and I've got all my other packs. It just seems like a really good spot for a restaurant, and I kind of want to put one there. There's also two new townie families that live in this like, town square area.
This first one is like the big, rich family that kind of like, runs the town, the Prescotts. Passed down through generations, this historic estate is home to the Prescott family. Mei Prescott, Copperdale's high school principal, lives here with her two daughters and her father. After her husband's passing, she put all her efforts into protecting her girls and showering them with affection, oftentimes to an embarrassing degree. Molly is a star student with a passion for music, taking a page from her troublemaker little sister Amy, she's learning to embrace her more rebellious side.
Tai enjoys time with his grandchildren, especially the extra moments that he has with Molly when working at the school as a janitor. Together the family proudly carries on the legacy of the Prescott name. I will say, I am kind of anti-Molly. From the small gameplay that I have done, my sim was dating her. I asked her to prom twice, and she denied me both times. And we were officially girlfriends! So Molly, you're on my hit list, I'm just saying.
This is what I mean by harsh lighting by the way, like, the lighting is so harsh in the mornings here. I'll show you the house in a second, but here are The Sims. So this is Tai, he is apparently -- oh no, looming dread because of a fear of death. He wants to discuss his fears of death, oh my god, that is too real, I don't even want to read that.
Anyway, he's got the fishing aspiration, he has the fishing and handiness skills. He's pretty close with his grandkids, but apparently not that close with his daughter. He's a snob, neat, loves the outdoors, a collector, and apparently has a current fear of death. Alright, this is Mei, she's the principal. She's perfectionist, gloomy, neat. She also has the successful lineage aspiration. She currently has no fears, so that's good, but she has the charisma, logic, and piano skills.
They did also give them all likes and dislikes so she likes world and classical music, dislikes mixology, she enjoys the colors red, brown, and gray, and she also likes polished fashion, the fashion category is a new option in this pack. Molly, my enemy, is a music lover and a genius, and she's got that music aspiration. She also has the guitar, logic, and mischief skills, and then her little sister is a thief, is a kleptomaniac. She has the motor and social skills. So while I am pretty impressed that these Sims all have like, proper likes and dislikes because we haven't really seen that before, they don't usually give much thought into that, I'm a little bit annoyed that the dad doesn't exist. They had that whole storyline where the dad supposedly died, but like, he doesn't exist, they don't know his ghost.
He's not in the family tree. In The Sims 3, he would have been in the family tree. In The Sims 3, the ghost would have been there. If I were them, I would have made him and killed him so that he could be in the family tree.
I guess it doesn't matter like, too-too much, but I just would have liked that little detail. This is their amazing historic home though, by the way, which is actually incredible. You can see they've got a really good spot with like, this view off the cliff. The backyard is quite nice, they've got all these seating areas and stuff, they've got like a little picnic table down here. And it's huge on the inside, you can see we've got an entryway here, we've got this like, kitchen/dining space, there's an office, we've got a huge living room. There's even a basement, it has a gym and like, a little woodworking area.
I don't often really bother to include basements in my builds, so I was pretty impressed by that. And then upstairs we have all the family's bedrooms. Poor little Amy has the tiniest room in this absolutely ginormous house, but they do have this like, little sneaky ladder up to the top, and it looks like it's probably like, a shared hangout for the kids, so that's quite cool. The other family in this area is the Harjo family.
Brought together by their mutual obsession over food, Ava and Lucha fell in love. Ava was recently hired at the high school to work in the cafeteria and with her expert cooking skills, the food has never been better. Lucha, still learning some chops, was promoted to head dishwasher and couldn't be happier. Ash has decided to fully commit to a life of fashion, diving into the Simfluencer lifestyle and spending loads of their time on Trendi. Noah, a bit of a prankster, spends his time training for football and daydreaming about his secret crush, Sidney Price.
With teens to raise and recipes to create, the Harjos are in for some wild adventures. Again, very harsh lighting on their house, but we'll get to that next. I think I'll start with the parents, so we know the dad is obviously in the cooking career and has that cooking aspiration.
He's also family-oriented, clumsy, and a foodie. Got the comedy and cooking skills. This is a blended family, so Ava has her son named Noah. She married Lucha, he had a kid named Ash, they all live together, so that kind of makes sense. And that's also why Noah has a different last name. Ava also has the chef aspiration, but she technically doesn't have a job because in game she's set to work at the cafeteria in the school, and you will see her in the school in gameplay. I wish that there was like, a label for that or something, but I guess like, when you're playing in the household, she can't work at the school, so I don't know, but when you're playing with a different household, she'll be there.
She has the charisma, cooking, and gourmet cooking skills. Nobody has any sentiments or anything, I was checking, don't worry, but she's outgoing, good, and a foodie. It's kind of fun, you can see she likes comedy, gardening, cooking, she hates programming. Now Ash here has one of the new teen aspirations. They have the admired icon one, there's four. So from that they have the relatable trait from choosing a teen aspiration, but they also are self-assured and creative. They're in school, but they also have the part-time job of macro Simfluencer, so they have the charisma, entrepreneur, and painting skills.
Ash is pretty good friends with Molly from the other household and also Sidney. I think Ash is also the first sim to officially use they/them pronouns in-game, which is pretty cool. There's been a few Sims in the past, like for example Morgyn Ember from Realm of Magic that I think use they/them pronouns, but we obviously didn't actually have the update yet, and they also haven't gone back to update Morgyn's pronouns in-game yet officially, so I think Ash is the first one. Interestingly, Noah is not really a big fan of Sidney, Ash's friend, but he has the chief of mischief aspiration, he's also on the football team in high school, he has the comedy and mischief skills, he's also a party animal, one of the new traits, and a goofball.
And then this is their house, I think it's really cute. I love this little like, side yard patio they've got. On the inside, we've got like, living room here, we've got a kitchen in the back, a little dining space, there's a bathroom here. There's like, a little landing upstairs with another bathroom. I assume this would be Noah's room, and then there's also like, the parents bedroom.
And then there's a staircase into the basement right here, and I assume this room belongs to Ash, so they have their own bathroom and also kind of their own little outdoor space. Obviously it's in the basement, but it does have a window and it's accessible from the outside. But this room is so cute, like the trans flag on the wall, all the detail in here. It is so fun having simmers build these lots now because there's so much more detail and like, story involved I feel like from the houses. But this is the rest of that town square area that's actually accessible to you that you can walk around.
There's kind of like a little boardwalk-y trail type part around here by the water. They've kind of implied that it's a bike path, and so you can walk around all down this area, there's like, some grills and some tables. You can come all out this way because this is where that big mansion is up at the top.
Weirdly you can also walk around like, back here even? A lot of the road is kind of accessible. But I think the most important part is this like, little town square section, it's kind of cute, there's like a little gazebo you can stand in. There's even like a no fishing sign for this pond. This is actually my first time like, actually looking around in this section, I've kind of been saving it for the video, so I'm pretty impressed by all the little things that you can do. There's like, some playground equipment. This part is so cute, like this little overhang section. There is a bathroom. And the graveyard has like, nothing that you can click on,
but I wouldn't be surprised if that ghost spawned in this area. Anyway, that's the whole town square. Let's move on to Plumbite Cove. I'm sorry, I'm saving the high school for last, it's the most important part. Settled on Lake Lazuli sits Plumbite Cove, a once popular location for its mining of rare gems. After the mines shut down, the town turned this picturesque outlook into a waterfront fairground.
With thrills, chills, and a breathtaking view, Plumbite Pier is the ideal spot for all ages to make some memories. Travel to Totter Park to see the majestic rock before heading to the pier to snag a selfie with the Frank the Flying Womp Womp tribute. Whether settling down or just stopping by, the Plumbite Cove is a must-see Copperdale gem. I think I'll start with this rental house because there is a vacation rental here if you wanted to like, spend the weekend by the pier. It's kind of cool, you've got like, a full view of the pier and also all of the water from this lot.
It is expensive, it was like, 814 simoleons a night, but it's a nice house, and it's big. Like, there's three bedrooms that your Sims can stay in, and these are bunk beds so you can get like, extra Sims sleeping in here if you need to. Downstairs, there's a little kitchen, we've got like, this living space, it's also got a card table and a bar, so it's a good like, entertaining house. There's a huge dining room, outdoor dining space, and I think my favorite part, there's a ladder into the basement and from the basement, there's like a little store area, but also a proper movie room. Like, a cinema room in the basement. I think that is so fun!
It's very much like a luxury vacation house that your Sims can rent. Next door there's an empty 20 by 20 lot. This one I think might be my favorite lot location in the entire game, like, look at the area surrounding this. Are you kidding? There's also another starter home over here and this one is two bedrooms. Again, the location of this lot is really good. Like, this is a really nice spot to live. On the inside we've got the two bedrooms,
little bathroom, and like, a kitchen/living/dining space. I love the layout of this house, this is like, super playable. And again, it's in a really good location because it's so easy access to the pier and also like, this whole view and stuff. And then we have Totter Park, there's like, a really big park next door.
I feel like I'm gonna find myself traveling to this park a lot, like, whenever you want to have your Sims go to the pier, you'll probably have to come to the park first and then walk over to the pier because you can't like, travel to the pier because it's not a lot, it's like, a fake area. You can still use it, it's just not like, a lot, that you can have your Sims travel to, if that makes sense. But it's a really nice little park, it's very much like, national park sort of vibes I feel like. This is that rock they were talking about.
The park itself is kind of simple, it's got like, a little playground section, there's some bathrooms, there's like, a little gazebo area, but I feel like it's sort of implied that like, this whole area is meant to be the park. Just like, this one smaller section is like, "the lot" of the park, you know? I'll explore that more in a second with the Sims because I want to show you this household next, this is the Price family. High school sweethearts and Copperdale alumni Janae and Marcel Price have returned, moving back into their old neighborhood with their three children, Sidney, Savannah, and Jayden. They also welcomed Kevin, a foreign exchange student, into their lively home.
It's a busy household stirring with activity and thriving pursuits. While Marcel works on his latest novel, Janae works full-time as a regional manager. The twins, Savannah and Sidney, each enjoy their own interest while trying to keep up good grades. Jayden looks up to his siblings a lot and can't wait to be just like them, his buddy Kevin included.
Life can certainly get away from them, but they know they can always depend on one another. So this household is big, but I think we'll start off with the parents. This is Janae, she's self-assured, clumsy, and active.
She's in the business career and she also has the renaissance sim aspiration. She's got the charisma, fitness, and programming skills, so she's smart. There's no like, lore relationships with -- are you okay? You don't look okay. You look scared. Anyway, sorry, there's no like, lore or like, relationships with other Sims outside of their household, but she is like, close with her family obviously. She likes gardening, cooking, fitness, writing, and piano, so she's got a lot of hobbies.
Her husband Marcel is an author so he's like, really high in the writing career, level seven. He's got the nerd brain aspiration. He has the cooking, logic, and writing skills. Same thing, he knows his family, but nobody else outside of it. He has the goofball, bookworm, and cheerful traits. Then they've got a few kids, these two teens are supposed to be twins, Savannah and Sidney. Savannah is materialistic and a geek, she has the computer whiz aspiration.
She's also on the computer team in the high school, so she has the programming and video gaming skills. It looks like she is not a very big fan of Cassandra Goth or Malcolm Landgraab or Molly, which is interesting. Her twin brother Sidney is an overachiever, one of the new traits, and active.
He's got the friend of the world aspiration. He's on the cheerleading team at the high school, and he has the charisma and fitness skills. And then Kevin is that exchange student that lives here, so he has the goal-oriented aspiration, that's one of the new ones. He's not joined any clubs or anything yet at the high school.
He's got the handiness and rocket science skills. He doesn't really know many people just yet, but he's pretty close, like, best friends with Sidney it looks like, and also pretty good friends with Savannah. And he has the socially awkward and romantic traits, which is really interesting.
And then last but not least, the little one, Jayden, he is outgoing, he has the social butterfly aspiration, and he's creative and social. And then this is their house. It's got like, a really nice open floor plan down here. I assume that this room is supposed
to belong to the parents, and they've got like, a really nice ensuite bathroom. Upstairs we've got three more kids rooms, I assume that this one belongs to Sidney, this one probably belongs to Savannah, and then they have like, a little brother's kids room. And then outside, there's like, an attached -- I assume like, garage, or guest house or something, and I'm guessing that this is where Kevin lives and he stays in here. It's a really nice spot, I feel like he got really lucky, this is a good place to live. I'm also noticing this for the first time, there's like, a Minecraft poster in the game, that's so funny.
And this neighborhood is huge, there's like, so much to walk around. So you can come all the way up here, there's like this huge park area, all of this is accessible, your Sims can walk around. Same thing all the way out here, completely accessible, your Sims can walk around it. And then if you come down this way, like, sort of more into the town space, this is where that pier is. I feel like now is a bad time to be here at like, 10am, but in the evening the lighting is so good. Also they're kind of taunting us with the parking lots and stuff, but all of this area over here is accessible, like, your Sims can walk around, you can see all these people kind of coming over here anyway.
From this side, you can get into the water and you can swim all the way around this area. You can kind of see where the logs are, that's kind of where the swimming stops, but all of this is swimmable area, so your Sims can come swim on the beach. And then the fair has a few things you can do, there's like, a haunted house, there's a romantic ride, there's a ferris wheel.
You can buy ice cream from this ice cream shop, this little stand sells boba, there's all kinds of seating. The description talked about taking selfies with this thing. There's also a photo booth down here so you can take pictures with people and also just take them by yourselves.
I can see myself spending a lot of time at this fair, it's a really cute spot to have your Sims come on a date, and also there's usually a lot of Sims around here. You can kind of tell, there's like, townies all over the place. Wowie, that sim is irresistible, Kevin has a major crush on Savannah? Ohhh, are you telling Savannah's brother about that? I haven't seen this yet. Oh, he got a sentiment, a crush sentiment towards her. That is so cute. I'm really excited about this. But that is this whole like, pier area, and I want to go show you all the high school now.
Again, I'm sorry, saving the best for last. There's two lots in this high school space, there's the actual high school on a 64 by 64 lot, and there's also the auditorium, and that auditorium kind of changes. So I haven't played a ton in this pack yet, like I haven't seen everything, but I did play through one prom event just because I wanted to see, and so the auditorium as you can tell, normally is empty. It's just like a sort of general event space, but then it can be changed into for example, the formal dance event space, it can be changed into the high school graduation event space, and then I assume by editing these versions, it'll edit how it will appear in those actual events in game. It's kind of similar to Eco Lifestyle it looks like, with those like, dynamic lots. So here's how graduation looks, and then we have the career day as well, and it looks like this.
I haven't actually seen these yet. And so this is editable, like you could change this if you wanted to, but this is what the default looks like. Now the area around this is actually accessible, like your Sims can actually come out here. Nothing, from my understanding, actually happens in this football field.
Like, they don't sit in the stands or anything, but they do use the big open field for events, like I had my sim go to a cheer event over here, so they had like, a bunch of cheer mats set out over in this area. You can kind of see one of them there now. So this area at the very least is playable and has like, almost like, the festivals from City Living kind of like, appear in that area. Or I guess similar to like, those special events from University, if that makes sense.
Again, they're kind of taunting us, you can see there's like, some parking lots and stuff, there's still no cars in this game. But the final and most important lot of course is the high school. Now I will tell you in advance, I was a little bit disappointed by the high school. I think it's a little bit empty. Luckily it's editable so you can change it and I probably will be changing it, but this is what it looks like. Also this high school area is so American, it's almost so American that it's even unfamiliar to me.
Obviously the building style is very fancy and like, not what I'm used to, but I grew up in Florida. So in Florida, we have a lot of like, smaller buildings that are kind of like, spread out, like, two-story type of buildings with classrooms in them and stuff, and it's kind of like a wide campus all spread out. I've never been to a school that's all just in one building. I know that happens a lot. I think it happens more so in like, colder places as well, but my school had like, a cafeteria building, there was a gym building, there was like, four classroom buildings, and they were all separate, and you had to walk in between them. When it was raining, extremely unpleasant, but to me, this like, one building thing is fancy, it's like a really big, nice, fancy building instead just like, the two-story, like, outdoor buildings that I grew up with.
Also this kind of thing, there's like, painted parking spaces. This again, they're taunting us. We never had this at my high school, I know that some high schools the seniors were allowed to paint their parking spaces on the ground, and they had like, their own individual parking spots.
One, I didn't drive in high school, but two, we didn't have like, painted parking spaces. But that is a thing that happens in America, I just -- that's not what I experienced either. And then this, the actual building has kind of a courtyard outside. The back's got another courtyard, it's kind of cute, there's like, some vending machines and stuff in this area. And when you actually come inside the building, there's a lot of empty space I've noticed.
On this first floor, this main section is the cafeteria, there's like, a little cafeteria stand and some tables and stuff. There's like, what looks like a conference room over here, we've got a bathroom on both sides of the building. This is the principal's office and it looks like she also has access to like, a private -- I don't know, lounge, it's got a coffee maker. In the back, there's two classrooms.
Now, I've played through a couple days of school. From my understanding, you get assigned to one of them and then your sim like, goes there. Mine had classroom one, and so I had all of my classes in classroom one every day. And at the same time, there was like, a separate class going on in classroom two. Upstairs, there's like, an art room and a music room, and then in the basement, there's some more bathrooms with showers, there's a gym, there's also like, a little chess room, and a little computer room. I kind of wish that there was more like, detail, and decoration in this building.
I think it's really cool, there's a lot of potential in this building, I just feel like it seems a little bit empty. And I think that probably has to do a lot with the fact that it has to run on all computers. They do like, min spec testing and stuff and because this lot is so big and it needs to be functional, it's kind of like the whole point of the pack, they sort of limited some items that were in it. So I'm not surprised, I'm just a little bit disappointed and I will probably renovate this many a time. I'm gonna have a lot of fun renovating this as well.
I'll probably build my own high schools, I just -- I'm not really sure what will happen if I like, completely delete and redo this, like, how it'll affect gameplay, so I'll have to do some testing, but it's a pretty cool space and there's a lot of potential. And that my friends, is the entirety of Copperdale. I realize that I recorded for a very long time for this video.
It's been over an hour, so it's probably gonna be a really long video and for that I apologize, I was just excited and I had a lot to say. So I won't sit here and hold you too long, but if you are interested in seeing more content about the new High School pack, I've got a lot of videos coming for you. Yesterday I posted a whole review video, and I've got a lot more gameplay videos and stuff coming soon too. So feel free to subscribe to see more early access content, thank you so much for watching and sticking by this entire video, and I will see you all tomorrow. Bye everybody. You know what, the fact that I recorded for this long is probably a good sign about the world though, right? Like, the fact that I talked this much about it probably means there's a lot to say, so it's good, right? [ JAZZY OUTRO MUSIC ]
2022-07-18 21:47
