The latest Sims 4 patch seems to have added some new XML tuning in preparation for the next Game Pack. You can read the full datamine here at SimsCommunity.info. To make an interesting story short, the composer of The Sims 4’s soundtrack stated back in September that there would be “scary new #sims4 packs”. September being September, most people assumed that there was a second Halloween stuff pack on the way. But Halloween passed with nothing.
The new XML references a new occult state, alternate forms and a new type of gravestone. Some new icons were also found in the game data, including this one, which seems to be the most telling of the bunch.
So yeah, vampires.
As Get Together and City Living both broke the long-running tradition of every Sims expansion containing at least one new life state, the status of what is by far one of my favorite parts of the Sims series has been up in the air for almost two years now. And while it’s nice to know that the supernatural part of the series isn’t being abandoned altogether, it’s also a big kick in the shin to learn that they may soon be being sold to us separately. For $20 each.
Some people have mentioned that, if a life state becomes the entire focus of a pack, rather than thematically-connected bonus, that there’s a chance that the state will be more fleshed out. The new XML also includes information for a new world, which may be anything from a single lot to (unlikely) something of Windenburg’s size. Perhaps life-state exclusive hidden lots in the same vein as The Sims 2’s hidden witch lots are on the way.
Time will tell.