I understand people's frustrations with the lack of in-game chat. However, proximity chat isn't the answer. Prox chat still allows a player to spam others and ruin their experience. What I'd like to see, is an in-game, one-to-one, push-to-talk chat: I envision the "inspect player" button getting modified so that a single quick press works as it currently does, but holding the button down enables chat with that user. Or at least indicates a request to chat. A chat icon would appear near your name in the HUD of the person with whom you're requesting a chat. If that player also holds down the "inspect player" button on you, you can now chat with one another, potentially agreeing to join a party. Once in the party, the console's party chat would be used as normal. This method keeps the "safety" of having to explicitly request/accept chat sessions, but doesn't require a lengthy, console based party invite. You can quickly find out if another player is willing to chat at all let alone join a party, without having to go into menus where you can't even tell if they've walked away.