To celebrate the release of Hard Time III, this game inherits as many features as possible for a consistent experience across school and prison:

- New projectile weapons that introduce shooting mechanics include a water gun, spray paint, the hairdryer, a fire extinguisher that now actually extinguishes fires, and a slingshot that can be loaded with rocks (or any other object held in the other hand!).
- You can jump by double-tapping the Run button (hold for extra height relative to your agility!).
- By holding the pick-up command, furniture can be lifted & thrown overhead by characters who are strong enough!
- You can move in the kneeling state if you deliberately access it via the sleep command (left stick button). You can even continue to do certain actions such as picking up, dropping & crafting.
- People are less likely to be witnessed when crouching down and/or in dark lighting.
- You only greet allies you have chosen to look at instead of being constantly distracted against your will.
- Lots of new missions include staking out people or locations, extinguishing fires and tidying up broken furniture.
- New approaches include asking for money or offering it. You can also now ask where a specific person is.
- A new punishment includes being tied to a teacher!
- Handcuffs allow you to bind the hands of anyone you grab while holding them!
- Anybody can use Taunt in a grapple to trigger an intimidating version of the dialogue system that is more likely to succeed at the expense of the relationship.
- Opponents can be snatched out of cars!
- New responses to assault compares the weapons involved.
- New headwear includes a flat cap and a beret.
- Lots of new food types, with more noticeable effects on your weight.
- Improved AI prevents angry people interrupting attacks against the same opponent.
- Changing your character's face when setting up a new game is no longer treated as plastic surgery.
- Universal changes to your face are not charged in triplicate.
- Forbidden to exit while dying or being grabbed.
- The hairdryer can be used to access costume editing anywhere so long as you have sufficient funds.
- Riding a skateboard is better for your mental health.
- Sweeping is more tiring but easier to earn from when there is no mess to literally clean up.
- Kicking a ball is more tiring but improves your physical attributes.
- Character selection previews are no longer affected by the star's in-game ailments (such as needing the toilet!).
- Important characters are less likely to be missing from a scene at lower populations.
- Tutorials are less likely to be repeated in another lifetime.
- You can still be detained in the middle of a nervous breakdown.
- People are less likely to respect the fact that you are sleeping and will wake you up to talk.
- Kissing in view of a teacher is more likely to be criticized.
- The protest mission is more likely when either person is holding a sign.
- Either thumbstick button can be used to reset an option instead of both of them.
- Improved Yearbook logic replaces existing entries of the same character instead of duplicates.
- Upon starting a new game, your old character automatically enters the Yearbook as an alumni.
- Holding an opponent's arms back counts as detaining them (instead of transitioning into a Tiger Suplex, etc).
- Students are less likely to complain when a teacher confiscates something from them.
- A gang boss always stands behind in the editor.
- Romance takes longer to develop (especially for a female lead).
- Finished paintings are less likely to be replaced unless you persist.
- Prevented rare issue that may have caused seated pick-ups to smash fragile objects, incorrectly target bagged objects, and then crash.
- Surviving death now advances time by at least an hour and damages your stats.
- Relationships and scars are reset properly when a new character is generated.
- Scars remain visible in office meetings.
- Washing in a sink cleans all limbs instead of just the hands.
- The Workshop now has interactive windows, and smashing windows is punishable as a form of vandalism.
- Adrenaline rushes boost your health.
- Stat/grade changes are displayed longer under the health meter.
- Alarm volume is now optional under the "Audio" tab.
- Built in the latest version of Unity for enhanced compatibility.