I goofed earlier when I said The AVault News story on Unreal 224 didn't contain new info (story), as my recollection of a previous announcement of LOD (Level of Detail) modeling in the upcoming Unreal-engine Duke Nukem Forever (story) led me to think this had already been announced for Unreal, when it had been not (sorry about that). Here's the part on LOD that's new:

Another major enhancement to be included in 224 is continuous level of detail, which varies polygon counts on objects such as player characters and power-ups relative to their distance from the camera, or player's perspective. In Unreal Tournament, this will enable the engine to place more characters and objects on the screen and still maintain a consistent and fluid framerate. Rein said this is an important feature not just for Unreal and Unreal Tournament but also for engine licensees since it also opens the engine to new game types, such as real-time strategy titles, that were not previously obvious choices for the engine.