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I hope this is thread worthy, but here it goes.
I have never played Brood War. Ever. My only RTS experience is with Starcraft 2, I started in beta and I'm in masters now. I've been very, very interested in brood war though. It's like this mysterious legend of a game that all the pros talk about a lot, but one that I never got to experience.
So I downloaded the game, and in my first game I noticed, obviously, how much harder the mechanics were (simply moving your army, macrong) but a HUGE issue with how bad I am at it is I don't know SHIT about the maps. And to make it worse, they are all dark. I literally have no idea what is around every corner. Hell, I don't even know where my opponents base is. How did you guys learn these maps? Obviously you played on them for years.. but is there any way I can see them without it being fully dark?
What are some easy builds / openers I can do? For example, in starcraft 2 you could tell me to go 3 gate robo into 2 base colossus. That's pretty simple and I know what I should generally look to do in that game. Judging from what artosis says, I could probably just DT drop every game I play and do pretty well! (not to say I want to play protoss, I would play any race but i'm guessing protoss is the most noob friendly)
What are the most standard unit comps? I know it varies, but for another example Stalker / colossus is a pretty standard unit comp. Roach Hydra.. Tank / Marine / Medivac. Sorry if this is too general - but I literally don't know.
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if you're playing in single player, use the Black Sheep Wall cheat code to see the map. If you're in a multiplayer melee game, hover your mouse over Map Preview in the game lobby
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Popular maps for the online scene are.
Python
Fighting Spirit
Destination
Popular team maps
Hunters...thats it lol
TvP
Vulture+Tank
Zealot+Dragoon
ZvP
Hydralisk
High templar+Zealot+dragoon
TvT
Tank+Dropship+Goliath
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TvP: terran:vulture/tank and goliaths if needed with vessels for emp later on
protoss:dragoon/zealot/ht/arbiter for stasis/recall and maybe reavers.
TvZ: terran:mm with vessels for irradiate and dropships
zerg:ling into muta into ling/lurker into ling/lurker/defiler and then maybe ultras
TvT: tank/goliath with dropships basicly, mostly a position war.
ZvP: zerg: the tvz composition can work, though most of the time it's a large ammount of hydras with lurkers, defilers, scourges for drop harrass and defilers/ultras.
protoss: dragoons/zealot/ht/reaver/shuttles for reavers and harrass
ZvZ: lings into mutas and that's about it :d. Short matchup;
PvP: dragoons/zealots/hts/reavers and shuttles
These are pretty basic and you will probably see them most of the time however it can vary a lot but these are the most common/standard to use.
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The amount by which you can actificially inflate your rating by cheesing in broodwar is quite small. A DT drop executed by [insert A+ level toss], is quite different from yours.
But on to your questions, for protoss the most standard unit compositions would be:
PvT: Dragoon, Zealot, (Observer), Arbiter.
PvP: Dragoon, Zealot, ShuttleReaver (this later becomes HT + Archon).
PvZ: Dragoon, Zealot, HT + Archon.
When it comes to builds i don't feel qualified to educate you, but check out liquipedia/PL vods/Progamer reps.
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Easy build for protoss in starcraft :
PvT :
Do the best you can to have DT + 2/3 gates as soon as possible (cutting probes, build only probe, make sure that the chain of first gate -> cyber core -> citadel -> templar is undisrupted...) and send them all to Terran base and pray.
This made me go 3-2 in my first 5 games on iCCup.
PvZ :
Build a forge at the nat and an hidden pylon near Zerg base, after that build cannons in Zerg base and pray.
PvP :
OK, build 2-3 gates, no gas, build only zeal and send to the enemy base, and of course, pray.
With this you can win with no skill and the game is relaxed because you really have nothing to lose and you never get attacked during the game (failed the first attack = gg + quit game), so there is no fear of sudden attacks/harass or anything.
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Know thy maps! These are the most commonly played 1v1 maps. FS and Python are 4 player, Destination is 2 player. The starting locations are shown with the colored ovals.
http://www.teamliquid.net/tlpd/images/maps/237_Fighting Spirit.jpg
http://www.teamliquid.net/tlpd/images/maps/147_Python.jpg
http://www.teamliquid.net/tlpd/images/maps/188_Destination.jpg
Protoss is a good way to start BW; it's easy to learn, and easy to use, at the lower levels. Now, I'm not a protoss main, so I'll probably be wrong on some counts, but here's the basic gist of PvX matchups:
PvT will be pretty easy early on. Focus on dragoons first, then with zealots as support. Add high templars as the game goes on. Observers are a cheap way to maintain map awareness. They are also necessary to sweep mines. Arbiters will be necessary lategame for the army cloaking, stasis, and recall. Making carriers is also a useful skill toi have a good method to win the game. In general, the Protoss should be controlling the encounters, and maintaining map presence.
Dragoon -> SpeedZeals + Dragoons -> SpeedZeals + Dragoons + HT -> SpeedZeals + Dragoons + HT + Arbiters -----maybe---> Carriers
PvZ will probably be the hardest PvX matchup. Use corsairs to scout and kill overlords and mutalisks. Zealots will be the backbone of your army early game. You will need to get HT and archons fast to support the zealots. A good mix of zealot, dragoon, archon, plus a couple HT is a really powerful Protoss army. Dark templar are also good for harassment, and for fighting in battles if your corsairs did their jobs. They are also pretty good vs ultraling defiler. This matchup is really dynamic, both Zerg and Protoss will be competing for map control. Both have the capability to hard turtle, and to be mobile.
Zealot -> SpeedZeals + HT -> SpeedZeals + Archons + HT + Dragoons
PvP: now I haven't played many PvP's, but Reaver, DT are both viable openers. Dragoons will be the backbone until speed zealots. Reavers and HT are both powerful midgame options and will help you win battles.
BW is much more macro oriented than SC2. You'll almost always have at least 3 bases up and running, usually more, unless you cheese of course. You should be putting down cannons at each expansion to defend and delay the opponent's army. When you're just beginning, focus on your macro. Having a fresh army waiting at your natural is much more important than trying to pull cute micro tricks in the field. Also, use F-keys, and hotkeys.
EDIT: standard builds:
PvZ:
Forge FE
http://wiki.teamliquid.net/starcraft/Protoss_FE_(vs._Zerg)
It's safe and it usually will not leave you behind. Watch out for Zergling runby's.
PvT:
1 Gate Core
http://wiki.teamliquid.net/starcraft/1_Gate_Core_(vs._Terran)
It's safe except vs 2 fact, it can be aggressive, and it has decent economy.
12 Nexus
http://wiki.teamliquid.net/starcraft/12_nexus
It's safe, it almost always pulls your ahead, and it makes Terrans QQ, what more could you ask for?
PvP:
There are a lot of options, I don't know all that much about PvP, so eh:
http://wiki.teamliquid.net/starcraft/PvP_Strategy
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Just so you know this game is MUCH MUCH harder to learn than SC2.
1. The mechanics are harder(basic)
2. There are solid builds out there, and have been for years, down the the very food number in some cases. This is not the case in SC2 so u can get away with a lot more builds.
3. People have been playing the games for years and are very good at this point.
4. Even things like walling and FE are harder because it's not like SC2, things don't stack neatly.
So don't get discouraged but realize what your doing, masters in SC2 doesn't mean much in SC bw.
Also I highly suggest you use protoss. It's the easiest race and it's one where u can get lucky with dts, dt drops etc.
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You can also check out liquipedia and see the maps there with various walls offs and recommended strategys.
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Unit comps and general bw concepts can be gotten pretty easily by watching progames  Check out the SWL (aka team league) playoffs tonight. A number of the top talents in progaming will be playing, so it'll definitely give you an education on modern bw.
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Another thing, walling is NOT like SC2. I don't know if Protoss even has ling-tight walls.
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My advice would be that you watch a lot of progamer VODs. That way you get to know the maps, learn army compositions and get a general feel for the matchups. If you just want to look at a certain map, you can find pictures of them on TLPD. Also, BW games are a lot more entertaining imo, so you are in for a treat 
Another advice is to focus on one race, learning nine matchups at once is overwhelming. I would even go as far as playing one matchup at the time and then move on when you feel that you have some grasp of it. While Protoss is the most noob-friendly race, that doesn’t mean that you cant play Z or T. Just pick the race that you enjoy and suits your style, you will get owned in the beginning regardless of which race you choose. Also, your choice is not set in stone, you can change whenever you want to.
If you really want to be a solid BW player, visit iCCup (although you should definitely start with B-net.)
GL
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On April 02 2011 03:23 buhhy wrote:
Another thing, walling is NOT like SC2. I don't know if Protoss even has ling-tight walls.
Gateway over forge? 
My best advice is just to keep building SCVs. I have a horrible habit of forgetting.
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On April 02 2011 03:30 Zergneedsfood wrote:Show nested quote +On April 02 2011 03:23 buhhy wrote:
Another thing, walling is NOT like SC2. I don't know if Protoss even has ling-tight walls. Gateway over forge?
Whoa, is it really? Did not know that. I keep thinking of how pylons suck at walling.
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On April 02 2011 03:23 buhhy wrote:
Another thing, walling is NOT like SC2. I don't know if Protoss even has ling-tight walls.
Gateway on top of forge creates a ling-tight wall.
buhhy gave many good tips. One thing though, 12 nexus is not very safe on Python which you probably will play a lot.
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On April 02 2011 03:32 buhhy wrote:Show nested quote +On April 02 2011 03:30 Zergneedsfood wrote:On April 02 2011 03:23 buhhy wrote:
Another thing, walling is NOT like SC2. I don't know if Protoss even has ling-tight walls. Gateway over forge? Whoa, is it really? Did not know that. I keep thinking of how pylons suck at walling.
It's all about the depots.
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Canada11349 Posts
Regarding maps- just pick Python to start with and play the hell out of it. It's the easiest map to get games on iCCup (Then add FS and Destination). It's actually much easier to improve this way in BW because you know exactly the map you're going to get rather than the random map on SC2's ladder.
Definitely check out liquipedia for strats, especially if you don't want to rely on prayer as kamikami suggests...
PvT and PvP I think 2gate range is fairly standard, while PvZ it's Fast Expand.
Mechanics are huge- the last time I made a thread on dealing with harassment I got good advice, but I was essentially told to get off iCCup until my mechanics were better aka win vs 3comp terran going 2 gate into mass macro as toss. I was rather annoyed at this at the time, but it honestly helped a lot just practicing my openings, to never miss a pylon, always build probes and keep my money down.
Without multi-base selection you really need to be adept at hopping around your base with the numbered hotkeys, unit making hotkeys and f2,f3,f4 keys.
Dark Templars are good, but I honestly haven't found them very useful myself as a beginning Protoss because everyone is so careful with detection. My theory on the lower levels to win via macro and eventually add in harassment mostly because they keep spending money on being safe from DT's. However, a well executed DT rush can still kill a bad toss like me PvP until I figure out the robo build better.
If you do play Protoss, you might find the fast expand the most uncomfortable because you're expanding with no military units, it's completely dependent on scouting, and Zerg can kill you a hundred different ways. However, after dieing a whole bunch, you start recognizing the different all-in's vs macro play that Zerg can throw at you. And sometimes you can even sneak a nexus in before even a cannon. Then you feel really baller.
Oh, for walling in, this is pretty key:
http://wiki.teamliquid.net/starcraft/Protoss_Fast_Expand_Forge_Walling
I actually just print off the wallins for the 3 maps I play and have it sitting in front of me because I can never remember how to make the wallin.
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If you want to win, I think you should start off with Terrans. You can always do some sort of 1 base 2-3 fac all in with terrans, and they are as annoying as hell. Or...play zerg and start 4 pooling, I got 4 pooled 3 games in a row on iccup yesterday. =.= At C- level...
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lol @ all the posts in this thread that think unit composition=build
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On April 02 2011 03:37 Zergneedsfood wrote:Show nested quote +On April 02 2011 03:32 buhhy wrote:On April 02 2011 03:30 Zergneedsfood wrote:On April 02 2011 03:23 buhhy wrote:
Another thing, walling is NOT like SC2. I don't know if Protoss even has ling-tight walls. Gateway over forge? Whoa, is it really? Did not know that. I keep thinking of how pylons suck at walling. It's all about the depots.
O god... Terran walling is so fickle... I could never understand how pros block 9ps or 4p with a non-ling-tight wall. 
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EPT
