Chat keeps the latest 64 received messages and wraps long lines.
With the Remastered HUD layout (the default), the four latest messages sit at the left edge above the status bar, each on its own plate, and leave one by one after a few seconds. Opening chat shows up to eight recent messages above an entry field that names the channel (ALL or TEAM), keeps your cursor in view as you type, counts the characters you have left near the limit and shows the Send, Channel and Cancel keys. The history shows only whole messages and never covers the team list of the Competitive layout.
With the Classic layout, chat grows upward above the lower HUD in Quake 4's olive frame: new messages appear for three seconds and fade out over another 0.75 seconds, and opening chat reveals the retained conversation again.
Your existing Chat and Team Chat bindings still work. The console
commands messagemode and messagemode2 are aliases for
clientMessageMode and clientMessageMode 1. say_team also aliases sayTeam.
Chat remains a multiplayer feature, including local games with bots. In a
team game, team chat also gives your bots orders, such as everyone follow me;
see Giving bots orders.
| While typing | Action |
|---|---|
| Enter | Send to the displayed channel and close |
| Escape | Cancel and close |
| Tab | Switch All/Team in a team game; each channel keeps its own draft |
| Page Up / Page Down | Scroll received history by a page |
| Mouse wheel | Scroll received history by a line (by a message in the Remastered layout) |
| Ctrl+Home / Ctrl+End | Oldest / newest received lines |
| Up / Down | Recall sent messages in the current channel; Down past the newest restores your draft |
| Home / End, Ctrl+Left / Ctrl+Right | Move within the input line |
The key used to open chat chooses the channel every time. In a game without teams, chat opens on All. Changing channels does not send anything. Team messages retain Quake 4's server-controlled team, spectator, mute and managed match restrictions.
When you scroll upward, incoming messages leave your reading position alone. The same message stays at the top when the panel width or font size changes. Ctrl+End resumes following new messages. Closing chat returns the passive display to the newest messages. Received history and the last 32 distinct consecutive submissions per channel are held in memory and cleared when a new map initializes or the UI shuts down; they are not written to disk.
These settings shape the Classic layout's chat panel; they apply immediately and are saved automatically:
| Console setting | Default | Range / meaning |
|---|---|---|
ui_chatScale |
1 |
0.75–2; font and spacing multiplier |
ui_chatWidth |
320 |
200–600 in the shared 640×480 GUI canvas |
ui_chatLines |
6 |
2–16 visible history lines, limited by available screen space |
ui_chatAlpha |
0.5 |
0–1; background opacity |
ui_chatTime |
3 |
0–60 seconds before fading; 0 hides passive chat while retaining history |
ui_chatOffsetX |
0 |
Horizontal offset in GUI units; positive moves right |
ui_chatOffsetY |
0 |
Vertical offset in GUI units; positive moves down |
Both the passive panel and the input line sit against the left edge of the whole display, not the left edge of the centred 4:3 HUD canvas, so on a wide monitor they stay in the corner instead of floating inward. Offsets are measured from that edge and clamped to keep the panel on screen, so the full width of the display is reachable. The default position clears the lower HUD; custom offsets can deliberately move it over other HUD elements. The input limit remains Quake 4's 128 bytes. Menu and end-of-match transcripts also retain more text, up to 32 KB.
For console binds, chatHistory up, down, top and bottom browse an open
panel. chatHistory status reports counts and position without printing messages.
Hold Quick Chat for a wheel of eight phrases: Attack!, Defend!,
Need backup!, Enemy incoming!, On my way!, Thanks!, Nice shot! and
Good game!. Push the right stick or move the mouse toward a phrase and
release to send it; releasing without pointing at one sends nothing. In a team
game the wheel sends to your team, and pressing zoom while it is open switches
to everyone and back; the wheel's centre names the channel. The phrase goes
out in your language. The wheel works alive, dead or spectating, and is part
of the new interface (it is absent with ui_retained 0).
New configurations bind Quick Chat to D-pad Down on a controller and V
on the keyboard; otherwise bind it under Settings > Controls > Weapons. Its
console action is _quickChat.
The interaction design draws on Q2REX, adapted to openQ4 without its engine, UI dependencies, fonts or artwork.