Communication is Key

A successful team communicates with each other.  Basic chat is accessed by using the Num 7 key (7 on the number keypad).  To access team chat, so that you talk only to people on your team, press Num 8.  The first time I did this, it said "To Bora:", and I thought it was private chat with someone named Bora. = )

Tachyon also uses real-voice chat, dubbed Voice-over-Net (VON).  To use VON, you have to unmute the person you want to speak to (otherwise you can't hear when they talk back).  Hit Num - (minus) to toggle between VON display modes.  Use Num 3 to cycle between people.  Num + unmutes people, making the speaker icon change to green.  I believe if someone's name is red, they have you muted, and green otherwise.  Finally, hold Num Enter to send a message, and release when you are done talking.

I actually haven't used VON yet, because my microphone needs adjusting.  But the potential to talk rather than type (which takes you away from flying), is definitely a plus.

Recon

The race for more powerful technology than the opposing team is important, and likewise, it is important to know how well your opponent is doing.  Every once in a while it's useful for someone on your team to fly into the opponent's sector and target their Life Support system.  With a Combat Scanner package equipped (you start with one), you will be able to find the Tech Level that the other team is at.  It's important to know if the other team is ahead of you, so that your team can consider changing strategies accordingly.

Note that you can also target your own Life Support system, in order to check its hull value.  In the final stages of the game, knowing who's ahead is important.

Minerals, Defense, Offense

At the beginning of the game, attacking the opponent's base is pretty worthless, since they won't have credit plants to attack, and you won't have weapons strong enough to damage anything.

Mostly, you'll need to concentrate on collecting minerals.  But you also want to make a small attempt to fight off the opposing team.  Letting the enemy gain free control of a system is a bad idea.  If you can take out an opposing mineral carrier before they get back to base it will slow them down.

When you get to Tech 3 or 4, it might be a good time to see how well the opponent's base is doing.  Whoever does the recon can probably take out some of the defensive mines as well.  Getting rid of the mines early helps when you need to take out the Life Support and Credit Plants later.

Endgame

By the time you get to Tech Level 8, your team should be pretty organized.  You need a lot of credits to finally get to the 10th Tech Level, so it's important to make sure several people are collecting minerals.

Keep up with the recon.  If the other team is ahead of you, taking out their Credit Plants will be key.  If they're at Tech 10, taking out a Credit Plant will drop them to Tech 9, and they'll have to collect more credits before their Helios Rockets will work again.  One or two people can take out a Credit Plant, while the others should concentrate on defense and mineral collection.

After you take out a Credit Plant or two, they're likely to get pretty angry with you.  If they're smart, they'll start to attack your Credit Plants.  If it gets to this stage, the game can really drag out, and defense will be more important than ever.

It's almost impossible to take out a ship before it launches its Helios Rockets.  If you shoot them down after they launch, the damage has already been done.  However, if you have defenders in each system they can wear down or destroy attackers en-route.  An attacker can use afterburners to avoid defenders, but it's hard to make the entire trip without running out of afterburner power, and that's when you can shoot them down.

It's also important to have defenders in your base system, because otherwise they can park near your Credit Plants and slowly take them out one at a time.

Once you're at Tech Level 10, anyone who was collecting credits should switch to Helios and concentrate on taking out the enemy's Life Support.  If your Tech Level drops, make sure someone is bringing credits in.  If you're only a few credits short attackers can defend outlying systems, and when Helios work again immediately go back to attacking.

Work as a Team!

Coordinating is extremely important.  If an area is filled with enemy fighters, call in for help.  Ask for volunteers as needed, usually someone will be willing to help out.

If you can get someone to act as a wingman, you can quickly dominate a system.  Rather than flying into a system to collect credits and hoping that there are more friendlies than foes, fly in and out as a group.  If one of you engages in a fight, calling for help will get you an instant response.

There are five systems in the base wars demo of Tachyon.  There is no way one person alone, no matter how good a pilot, can cover them all.  Teamwork and cooperation is the key to winning the game.  Fly hard, fly fast, and fly in numbers.  With any luck you'll come out on top.

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