Chat

UI subsystem for the in-game chat interface. ChatHUD is a HUDElement that coordinates a chat window, tabbed channel navigation, input field, and message display. The subsystem handles focus/unfocus states with animated fade transitions and integrates with the Chat singleton for message sending and channel management.

Architecture

Data Flow

Key Concepts

Concept	Description
ChatHUD	HUDElement subclass coordinating the entire chat UI. Manages focus state and fade transitions.
ChatInput	Text input field wrapper. Handles message submission to the Chat singleton and field activation.
ChatMessageLine	Individual line renderer. Wraps a TextMeshProUGUI component to display a single ChatMessage.
ChatWindow	Message display area. Binds to a ChatChannel and forwards new messages to the scroll rect.
ChatTabs	Tab bar for switching between chat channels. Creates tabs from Chat.GetChannels().
Focus/Unfocus	The chat has two visual states: focused (input active, fully visible) and unfocused (input hidden, fades out after 2s delay).

Quick Start

1. Access the chat from game code

if (hud.TryGetHUDElement<ChatHUD>(out var chatHUD))
{
    chatHUD.Focus();  // Opens the chat for input
}

2. Listen for focus changes

chatHUD.OnFocus += () => DisableGameplayInput();
chatHUD.OnUnfocus += () => EnableGameplayInput();

3. Hierarchy setup

HUD
└── Chat (ChatHUD component)
    ├── Window (ChatWindow component)
    │   └── Scroll (ChatScrollRect)
    │       └── Content
    │           └── MessageLine (ChatMessageLine, repeated)
    ├── Tabs (CanvasGroup)
    │   └── Tab (ChatTab, repeated)
    └── Input (ChatInput component)
        └── InputField (TMP_InputField)

Classes

Class	Description
ChatHUD	Root chat element — focus management and fade transitions
ChatInput	Text input field — message submission and field activation
ChatMessageLine	Single message line renderer

See Also

• HUD — parent container

• HUDElement — base class for ChatHUD