Fully fledged chat user interface

[Impatient]

TL;DR

Factorio gets a fully fledged chat interface with different tabs for console commands, global chat + game/mod messages, team chat and a tab for each personal or group conversation.

What ?

Most applications have a chat/console user interface which which are a "bit" more comfortable than the console in factorio. I wish for the following in order of importance:
Must haves:

• Chat/Console interface as in-game window
• Scrollable chat history
• Distinct notification sounds for messages of different types (global, team, private, game/mod messages ... at least for messages in personal conversations)
• Notification sounds can be disabled

Nice to haves:

• Messages are sorted/can be written to different tabs
• One tab for each of these: Console commands, game/mod messages, global chat, team chat
• One tab for each personal conversation

Very nice to haves:

• List of players
• Player names can be clicked to start a personal conversation

Super nice to haves:

• Players can be added to a chat group
• One tab for each group conversation
• Chat groups can be public (everyone can join) or private (players have to be added by members)
• Notification sounds can be chosen

The steam chat features all of the above (please ignore the other features, like voice chat, etc ...):

Why ?

Problems with current chat/console on multiplayer:

• Chat can become very crowded
• Every message (global, team, private, commands, game) is put into the same overcrowded message history
• Message history is not accessible further back than messages fit on the screen
• Chat notification sounds for a lot of messages get annoying sooner than later
• Often it is not clear who is talking to whom
• Because also whisper messages have the same notification sound as the global chat messages, it is hard to get the attention of a player, who is not following the global chat
• To maintain a personal conversation, the whisper command has to be used all the time, which includes the need to accurately type also confusing player names

[bobingabout]

I'm not saying you SHOULDN'T do something better, but, what exists right now isalmost on par with most games of this type.
The only thing that they should add is it displaying recent history when you press the button to open the console, and being able to browse through it.

the more complex systems that you're suggesting that list players are more typically used for MMO or "Always online" (as a copy protection means) type games.

[billbo99]

If there was a way to up vote this idea, I know there would be a lot of votes from the people I join in MP games.

Another idea would be an Admins notification tab, where they could send messages to everyone. If you have been on some of the RedMew maps they have had to hand craft method of getting announcements out. The also have their server send copies of chat to their Discord server, which is a nice integration, but currently only available to them, though I am told GM8 servers are looking to add a similar feature.