*UPDATED* The Sims 4 July Update Release Date News & High School Years

Be Whoever You Want To Be.

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The Sims 4 has finally added sexual orientation in a free update released yesterday!

The update includes three new details you can fill in using create-a-sim mode, and we have the details here for you right here, right now.

It’s launched just two days before High School Years – the new expansion set to launch later today.

Read More: The Sims 4 High School expansion pack release date

Sexual Orientation Finally Added

You’ll be able to choose from the following three settings:

This Sim is romantically attracted to… – with ‘Men’ and ‘Women’ as checkbox options. You can select one of the options, both or none.

• This Sim is exploring romantically – with ‘Yes’ and ‘No’ as radio options.

• This Sim is interested in Mess Around with… – with ‘Men’ and ‘Women’ as checkbox options. You can select one of the options, both or none.

The new update has a far more detailed Genders Section on Create A Sim – which breaks

The Genders Section of Create A Sim will feature Gender and Sexual Orientation. There’s a section that reads: ‘The Sim is exploring romantically’ – if you click ‘no’ then your Sim will not be interested in exploring a romantic connection.

Selecting “no” will prompt this sim to reject other Sims that do not meet their attraction type.

Another cool feature is that you can ask Sims what their romantic preferences are – so your Sim will know exactly where they stand.

The Sims 4 July Update Patch Notes

Here are the patch notes for the free update that’s launching today:

• Wants & Fears: This base game update replaces whims and includes a large selection of Wants that your Sims will want to achieve or Fears they want to overcome. This feature is on by default and you can toggle them off in the “Gameplay” options menu.
• Curved Walls are coming to your collection of Build tools! Place and adjust medium, large, and extra large curved rooms. Builders who are familiar with curved decks, fences, and platforms will find familiar controls for these new walls. Some doors and windows fit better than others, so to find the ones that do work well on these walls, use the new “Supports All Curved Walls” and “Supports Large and X-Large Curved Walls” filters within Build Mode.

Consoles

• On some PlayStation®4 systems, Eco Lifestyle’s Evergreen Harbor had a lot of objects flickering in the environment. We think we have squelched the problem. If you see it, please let us know and provide information about the model of PlayStation and OS version.
• On Xbox, interacting with Cottage Living’s Chicken Coop no longer causes the cursor to vanish.
• Closing the Notebook interface now hides its controller legend as well.

The Sims 4

• Sims can, once again, scoot over to an open side of the bed that is pushed up against the wall.
• Sims deliver food reliably to toddlers via the “Grab Serving for <toddler>” interaction.
• Throwing a birthday party for a toddler? Sims now can “Compliment the Birthday Sim” to complete the party if that goal appears.
• Did you know that your Sims can take care of a Need on their own if you click on the Need in the Needs panel? Give it a whirl! Sims with the Neat Trait now clean themselves when you click on “Hygiene” instead of cleaning their home.
• Vault Modular Counter maintains its color underneath the dirt when it gets dirty.
• Sims jog once again when using The MotionMonitor Gaming Mat and PrioPerfection Motion Sensor Game Mat.
• The “Save” and “Delete” buttons now both appear when mousing over a save slot on the “Save Game” screen.
• Sims can ask about these Likes and Dislikes without having their own preferences for them: Décor, Color, Hobbies & Skills, and Music.
• Since Sims in the same household know each other already, they no longer have the option to ask about various Likes and Dislikes. “Ask about Career” is the one exception.
• When socializing with another Sim, questions related to “Likes and Dislikes” now are grouped together under a category with that name.
• Your Sims went on a vacation with another household. You just heard through a Neighborhood Story notification that they adopted! That notification now has the name of that household’s home world rather than the vacation world.
• Placing a Lot from the Gallery defaults to its Lot type instead of asking to change to the location’s Lot type.
• When you have a window that aligns to the dotted half-tile mark and the window is as wide as its footprint, you now can place another window like that right next to it.
• Placing a rounded platform within another room now fills in the floor tiling around the curve.
• Placing Dragonfly Swarm and Mosquitos on ponds now results in dragonflies and mosquitoes, respectively. Bzzzzzzz bzzz….
• Cars viewed from a distance on low-end computers now look more like cars and less like a newbie woodworking project.
• That screen that appears when you can choose which Sim to do something with the active Sim… we adjusted the header so longer text does not overlap with the portrait of your Sim.
• That screen also consistently shows the “Everyone” category now when it pops up.
• Behind-the-scenes pregnancy tracking has some improvements for better performance and stability.
• We fixed three types of crashes: 
  • [PS4-only] One sometimes happened on PS4 when saving a Lot to My Library.
  • One was related to graphics.
  • And the peskiest one sometimes happened when placing a Retail Lot that had mannequins. Take that, crashes!
• Promotion Requirements in the Career panel now has a helpful hover-tip.
• The Lot Challenges icon now has a helpful hover-tip.

Cats and Dogs

• These curtains now can be placed around windows: Casual Country Curtains, Cozy Country Curtains, and Charming Country Curtains.

Seasons

• Gnomes placed from the Inventory no longer continue generating seed packets after the Harvestfest ends.

Island Living

• Children make progress for their Outdoor Adventurer badge when they catch fish or frogs.

Discover University

• After switching specialization branches in a career, your Sim now earns their well-deserved rewards from that new career.
• The button to “Go to Class Early” now appears one hour before University classes start.
• Sims go to University classes early when directed to if they are at their campus.

Eco Lifestyle

• What, you don’t want to see books among available ingredients for the Juice Fizzing station? Well, okay. Loading ingredients now shows only proper, edible ingredients.
• Idle animations for enjoying a fizzy drink while seated at a table now play appropriately.
• Sims can wash off the “Dyed In An Explosion!” moodlet with a good shower or bath.

UPDATE: Fans are reporting Sims rapidly aging in an increased timeframe due to the patch, with the official Sims Twitter stating the following on the matter:

“Hey Simmers! We are currently investigating instances involving Sims auto-aging up in saves using the Short or Long lifespan. We recommend temporarily playing in or creating new saves with the default/“normal” lifespan, as we work towards a solution.“

It’s unclear how long it will be until a fix is put in place, however. The update also accidently added the chance of incest to the game, with family members expressing attraction towards each other. A quality designer on the game stated the following when it came to the glitch:

“I just wanted to acknowledge that the Want to date a family member is something we know about, we’ve reproduced ourselves, we’re working on it. We’re looking to get it fixed ASAP, thanks for all the bug reports, we appreciate it. We’re of course working on the aging bug too.“

The Sims 4 High School Years

The latest expansion drops on the 28th of July, 2022. It will be available on all major platforms and looks set to cost you around £34.99.

Players will be able to send their teen sims back to school in the latest Sims 4 expansion pack, allowing them to experience all the trials and tribulations that high school had to offer.

Sims in High School Years will be able to attend Copperdale High where school grades will dictate where Sims get into college. There’s even an option for Sims to study online for their GED.

As it’s very Gen Z orientated, fashion and self expression will also play a huge part in the latest expansion. “One of the core pillars of the pack is identity expression,” senior game designer Jessica Croft told Digital Spy.

Elsewhere, smartphones are set to have an update, now resembling a real smart phone screen with an app-based UI and layout.

There’s even a social media app called Social Bunny where you can interact and make posts with other Sims. Not to mention gain followers.

The free update will be launching alongside this expansion pack, though you won’t need the expansion pack itself in order to get the update.

The Sims 4 Free Update Patch Notes

Here are the patch notes for the free update that’s launching today:

• Wants & Fears: This base game update replaces whims and includes a large selection of Wants that your Sims will want to achieve or Fears they want to overcome. This feature is on by default and you can toggle them off in the “Gameplay” options menu.
• Curved Walls are coming to your collection of Build tools! Place and adjust medium, large, and extra large curved rooms. Builders who are familiar with curved decks, fences, and platforms will find familiar controls for these new walls. Some doors and windows fit better than others, so to find the ones that do work well on these walls, use the new “Supports All Curved Walls” and “Supports Large and X-Large Curved Walls” filters within Build Mode.

Consoles

• On some PlayStation®4 systems, Eco Lifestyle’s Evergreen Harbor had a lot of objects flickering in the environment. We think we have squelched the problem. If you see it, please let us know and provide information about the model of PlayStation and OS version.
• On Xbox, interacting with Cottage Living’s Chicken Coop no longer causes the cursor to vanish.
• Closing the Notebook interface now hides its controller legend as well.

The Sims 4

• Sims can, once again, scoot over to an open side of the bed that is pushed up against the wall.
• Sims deliver food reliably to toddlers via the “Grab Serving for <toddler>” interaction.
• Throwing a birthday party for a toddler? Sims now can “Compliment the Birthday Sim” to complete the party if that goal appears.
• Did you know that your Sims can take care of a Need on their own if you click on the Need in the Needs panel? Give it a whirl! Sims with the Neat Trait now clean themselves when you click on “Hygiene” instead of cleaning their home.
• Vault Modular Counter maintains its color underneath the dirt when it gets dirty.
• Sims jog once again when using The MotionMonitor Gaming Mat and PrioPerfection Motion Sensor Game Mat.
• The “Save” and “Delete” buttons now both appear when mousing over a save slot on the “Save Game” screen.
• Sims can ask about these Likes and Dislikes without having their own preferences for them: Décor, Color, Hobbies & Skills, and Music.
• Since Sims in the same household know each other already, they no longer have the option to ask about various Likes and Dislikes. “Ask about Career” is the one exception.
• When socializing with another Sim, questions related to “Likes and Dislikes” now are grouped together under a category with that name.
• Your Sims went on a vacation with another household. You just heard through a Neighborhood Story notification that they adopted! That notification now has the name of that household’s home world rather than the vacation world.
• Placing a Lot from the Gallery defaults to its Lot type instead of asking to change to the location’s Lot type.
• When you have a window that aligns to the dotted half-tile mark and the window is as wide as its footprint, you now can place another window like that right next to it.
• Placing a rounded platform within another room now fills in the floor tiling around the curve.
• Placing Dragonfly Swarm and Mosquitos on ponds now results in dragonflies and mosquitoes, respectively. Bzzzzzzz bzzz….
• Cars viewed from a distance on low-end computers now look more like cars and less like a newbie woodworking project.
• That screen that appears when you can choose which Sim to do something with the active Sim… we adjusted the header so longer text does not overlap with the portrait of your Sim.
• That screen also consistently shows the “Everyone” category now when it pops up.
• Behind-the-scenes pregnancy tracking has some improvements for better performance and stability.
• We fixed three types of crashes: 
  • [PS4-only] One sometimes happened on PS4 when saving a Lot to My Library.
  • One was related to graphics.
  • And the peskiest one sometimes happened when placing a Retail Lot that had mannequins. Take that, crashes!
• Promotion Requirements in the Career panel now has a helpful hover-tip.
• The Lot Challenges icon now has a helpful hover-tip.

Cats and Dogs

• These curtains now can be placed around windows: Casual Country Curtains, Cozy Country Curtains, and Charming Country Curtains.

Seasons

• Gnomes placed from the Inventory no longer continue generating seed packets after the Harvestfest ends.

Island Living

• Children make progress for their Outdoor Adventurer badge when they catch fish or frogs.

Discover University

• After switching specialization branches in a career, your Sim now earns their well-deserved rewards from that new career.
• The button to “Go to Class Early” now appears one hour before University classes start.
• Sims go to University classes early when directed to if they are at their campus.

Eco Lifestyle

• What, you don’t want to see books among available ingredients for the Juice Fizzing station? Well, okay. Loading ingredients now shows only proper, edible ingredients.
• Idle animations for enjoying a fizzy drink while seated at a table now play appropriately.
• Sims can wash off the “Dyed In An Explosion!” moodlet with a good shower or bath.

READ MORE: You’ll soon be able to slide into other Sims’ DMs in Sims 4