I just launched a new local chat client here on AP. Unlike our previous client, this one does not rely on IRC, instead it's integrated with your accounts here on the forums. There's also several other features including; bbcode, emoticons, private channels, sound, multiple channels, ignore (yay), multiple styles, and much more.
The other cool thing is that since this is totally 100% local, all of your user names here on AP will map to your names in chat. No more having to be "Matt 945" because somebody has your nickname registered. You also have to be logged in to use it, and you can't change your user name in chat. This means everyone in chat should be exactly the same person as they are in the forums.
Permissions on the forums are also mapped to chat rooms. For example, if you were part of a usergroup who can access the "US Forces" side for a private OP forum, all of those users in that user group can also access that same "US Forces" chat room in private so they can discuss their strategy in real-time. The same goes for team forums and other restricted groups.
Find the new chat by navigating to the chat link on the top of the website, or click chat under the community tab. You'll also notice that we display how many users are in chat, so you'll always know if there are people in there, which will hopefully lead to more folks logging in and using the chat.
Enjoy!