While build order and unit production are essential for overall a macro. What building should be placed near each other? Where to place them? Are there structures that work in synergy with each other to maximize base defense? Easier microing?
I know for terran that there's a lot of that placing each other, and not letting the buildings to be surrounded, as marines shoot the incoming attacks, and sometimes protoss too. Idk much about zerg tho, I guess you can place evo chamber in front of crawlers to minimize damage on them but other than that, I don't have much idea.
as a terran player, i kno that there are two ways to macro ur buildings. one is putting all of the building that are the same together, i.e. having an organized base. another way is putting them everywhere but setting controlkeys for them to manage them wherever. i do both. i like to have a clean base. i will be putting up one of my 3rax terran matches up today on the starcraft 2 community communtary thread. itll show you the placement of my supply depots and rax. basically you make a like with your depots on one side and a line with ur rax on another. sorta making a funnel for the opposing army to be able to get to your mineral line, and if they dont take it, they give me time for me army to come back. ill show it tonight, possibley another game as well, so stay tuned for that! heres the thread if you havent seen it before. hope itlll help! http://www.starcraft2forum.org/forums/showthread.php?t=18579
Terran: lots of times it's a good idea to wall off with 1 or 2 supply depots (depending on the map) and a barracks. This will help slow any early game rushes and prevent lings from running into your mineral line. Other than that, it's a good idea to keep things consistent from game to game so you don't have any trouble finding your buildings. Protoss: I don't play Protoss, but I know a lot of players like to create a funnel into their base. This means putting 2 gateways on your choke point so that the space between is just big enough for one unit to get through. Zerg: Most players put early buildings (like the pool) behind their mineral line. This does two things: 1. if you build spine crawlers to protect your mineral line, they can also protect your buildings; 2. if the enemy is trying to scout and you kill their scout quickly, they may not see your tech. With higher level lair tech, it's sometimes a good idea to put buildings off to the side or in the corner of your base. You can generate creep with an Overlord and make your spire or hydralisk den or nydus network in a corner that your opponent isn't likely to scout. Hiding this tech means you can more easily take him by surprise. This especially works against a Terran opponent who uses scans to scout, since he isn't likely to scan the corner of your base.
As T or P on maps without a close ramp, it's good to build around your CC/Nexus. "SimCity" as you might've heard. Gives a close distance from production buildings if there's an attack, and you can also use it to block harass on mineral lines.
