SimCity’s 4.0 update launching today will introduce new areas, re-enable features and add additional fixes, according to a post on the EA forums.

After the update some features will be re-enabled, such as global market prices will now dynamically change during gameplay, and region filters and leaderboards are once again active. Region filters will now also be enabled on SimCity servers so you will be able to search for open games by Map Name, Sandbox Mode and Abandoned Cities. SimCity will also show the player’s current server in the options menu and include more detailed roll over information about whether Sim’s received happiness from a park or shopping.

The update also includes two new areas to explore. Edgewater Bay is a region with seven city sites in a single cluster with one great work site, and SimCity Launch Park is a special area dedicated to fans that will be available exclusively to early adopters. Update 4.0 also includes a few graphical, messaging and weather updates.

In terms of fixes, Maxis have fixed an issue where some cities would not have rain clouds to replenish their water table. In addition to this fire truck response times have been improved, as has the time it takes for a fire signal to reach a fire station. Happiness has also been tuned so that Sim’s will lose a small amount of happiness if they don’t have a place to shop, therefore meaning that cities without places to shop will see complaints.

You can read the full post for more details. However, there doesn’t appear to be an update which extends the city size or add an offline mode. A review of SimCity from Capsule Computers can also be found here.