Health gets reset on level change.

[CKWarner]

If you leave a level with greater than your normal maximum health - because you've picked up some of the single-unit health packs, for example - your health gets reset down to the maximum health (100 + n adrenalines) instead. This is obviously incorrect behaviour.

[DU-jdto]

This is obviously incorrect behaviour.

Is it? This has been in every version of Quake 2 I've tried, and I always assumed it was intended.

[CKWarner]

Is it? This has been in every version of Quake 2 I've tried, and I always assumed it was intended.

Hmm; you're right that the GOG version does it too. I'd not played through Quake 2 before this version.

It still seems like a mistake that's just never been corrected: you keep all your armour and items intact over level changes, after all.

As far as I can tell, the health is supposed to be preserved across level changes, it just isn't. From the original Quake 2 source code's g_local.c:

// client data that stays across multiple level loads
typedef struct
{
	char		userinfo[MAX_INFO_STRING];
	char		netname[16];
	int			hand;

	qboolean	connected;			// a loadgame will leave valid entities that
									// just don't have a connection yet

	// values saved and restored from edicts when changing levels
	int			health;
	int			max_health;
	int			savedFlags;

	int			selected_item;
	int			inventory[MAX_ITEMS];

	// ammo capacities
	int			max_bullets;
	int			max_shells;
	int			max_rockets;
	int			max_grenades;
	int			max_cells;
	int			max_slugs;

	gitem_t		*weapon;
	gitem_t		*lastweapon;

	int			power_cubes;	// used for tracking the cubes in coop games
	int			score;			// for calculating total unit score in coop games

	int			game_helpchanged;
	int			helpchanged;

	qboolean	spectator;			// client is a spectator
} client_persistant_t;

Ah, nope, it was deliberate. From g_main.c:

/*
=============
ExitLevel
=============
*/
void ExitLevel (void)
{
	int		i;
	edict_t	*ent;
	char	command [256];

	Com_sprintf (command, sizeof(command), "gamemap \"%s\"\n", level.changemap);
	gi.AddCommandString (command);
	level.changemap = NULL;
	level.exitintermission = 0;
	level.intermissiontime = 0;
	ClientEndServerFrames ();

	// clear some things before going to next level
	for (i=0 ; i<maxclients->value ; i++)
	{
		ent = g_edicts + 1 + i;
		if (!ent->inuse)
			continue;
		if (ent->health > ent->client->pers.max_health)
			ent->health = ent->client->pers.max_health;
	}

}

I still think it kinda sucks, though.

[CKWarner]

It's a simple patch to change the behaviour, which I've done on my one because I think it kinda sucks.

461,462d460
<         if (ent->health > ent->client->pers.max_health)
<             ent->health = ent->client->pers.max_health;