StarCraft/Terran buildings

Buildings in StarCraft serve several purposes. Most of them are used to produce units, others to research upgrades, or to provide static defences. Most importantly, they allow you to climb up the technology tree, allowing the construction of more buildings and units.

Here is a list of Terran buildings. Terran building can be built anywhere on the map unlike Zerg and Protoss building that are limited to certain spaces and some can even lift off and fly.

Note: Cost will be referred to as X/Y. X is the amount of minerals needed, while Y is the amount of gas.

Command Center
The Command Center (CC) is the Terran's primary building. It produces the worker SCVs, and is where gathered resources are dropped off. The Command Center also has the ability to lift off and move to a new location. This is useful in that you can build a Command Center for a nearby expansion somewhere safe in your main base, and then fly it to its new location (however you'll leave any extensions you've built behind). Two add-ons can be built: the Comsat Station and the Nuclear Silo. In addition, Command Centers give +10 supply.

Abilities:
 * Lift off: The building can lift off from the ground into the air. When airborne, buildings are able to move and land somewhere else but cannot produce units or research upgrades and cannot carry add-ons with them.

Comsat Station
The Comsat Station (Scanner) is an add-on for the Command Center. It can only be constructed once the Academy has been built. When it has enough energy, you can use the Comsat Station's Scanner Sweep ability to reveal any portion of the map and all units (including cloaked and burrowed ones) for a short time (~15 seconds). This is the perfect recon tool, since it's the only detector that cannot be detected itself. Comsats can be "hotkeyed" so a cloaked unit can be revealed in the heat of battle and killed before causing too much trouble.

Abilities:
 * Scanner Sweep: Reveals an area of a targeted section of a map for a short time. It also functions as detection. (Energy Cost: 50; Range: Anywhere)

Nuclear Silo
The Nuclear Silo is the other add-on for the Command Center. Nukes are built here so that Ghosts can fire them. It comes at a fair high cost of 200 minerals and vespene gas each and also takes up 8 supply. Only one nuclear missile can be ready at a time, so being able to fire off multiple nukes requires multiple Command Centers to be built. To use the nuke, you'll need a Ghost to target the Nuke's landing spot. Nukes are of only limited use: if the Ghost targeting the Nuke dies before it has found its target, there is no effect and you don't get your Nuke back.

Choosing one of the two add-ons will mean that the other cannot be built unless if the Command Center is lifted off and built one in another place.

Supply Depot
Supply Depots are the Terran supply buildings which enables new units to be created. A supply depot generates 8 supply. The building can also be used for wall-in strategies.

Refinery
The Refinery can only be built on a Vespene Geyser. It costs 100 minerals, but it's a nearly a necessity for building anything beyond Marines and SCVs. All air units require Vespene. Vespene Gas is also required to repair terran buildings and mechanical units (only SCV's have the repair ability).

Once built, SCVs can enter the Refinery and bring back the valuable Gas. However, only one SCV can enter a Geyser at a time, effectively limiting the speed at which Gas is accumulated (depending on how far the Geyser is from a Command Center, once a certain point is past, the same amount of Gas will come in no matter how many SCVs you put on it because the SCVs will just be lined up outside the Refinery waiting to go in). Usually, about 3-4 SCVs can harvest from a Geyser efficiently.

Barracks
The Barracks (Rax) is the first structure you can build that produces offensive units. It produces infantry units: Marines, Firebats and Ghosts. If you're playing the expansion pack Brood War it can also produce Medics. Barracks can lift off and move across the map. It's also commonly used to wall-in along with Supply Depots. Its low cost compared to other Terran building that can lift off, big size and hit points makes it somewhat useful for scouting and covering units so that enemy units can't target them.

Abilities:
 * Lift off: The building can lift off from the ground into the air. When airborne, buildings are able to move and land somewhere else but cannot produce units or research upgrades and cannot carry add-ons with them.

Bunker
The Bunker is a defensive structure the cannot attack enemies unless filled with at least one to four infantry units that can attack. SCVs can also be put in it but won't attack, as does the Medic who can't heal nearby infantry units when inside. It grants protection from damage to infantry units until the structure is destroyed. Have a SCV or two on standby so that they can repair the Bunker's health when it takes damage.

Marines gain +1 range in their attack when inside and it's common to have four Marines in the bunker for effective ground and air defense. Firebats in bunkers meanwhile are effective against Zerglings and Zealots. Pair bunkers with Siege Tanks and Missile Turrets and you'll have an ideally effective defense line.

Academy
The Academy is a research structure that offers infantry upgrades. In Brood War it also offers a variety of upgrades for the Medic. The Academy is a prerequisite for training Medics, Firebats, and Ghosts.

Upgrades:
 * Stim Pack: Marine and Firebat gain the Stim Pack ability. (Cost: 100/100; Time: 50)
 * U-238 Shells: Increases Marine's attack range by +1. (Cost: 150/150; Time: 63)
 * Restoration: Medic gains the Restoration ability. Brood War only. (Cost 100/100; Time: 50)
 * Optical Flare: Medic gains the Optical Flare ability. Brood War only. (Cost 100/100; Time: 76)
 * Caduceus Reactor: Increases a Medic's starting energy to 62 and increases the maximum energy to 250. Brood War only. (Cost 150/150; Time: 105)

Engineering Bay
The Engineering Bay is a research structure that provides weapon and armor upgrades for infantry units. It is also a requirement before you can build Missile Turrets, an anti-air structure.

Abilities:
 * Lift off: The building can lift off from the ground into the air. When airborne, buildings are able to move and land somewhere else but cannot produce units or research upgrades and cannot carry add-ons with them.

Upgrades:
 * Infantry Weapons 1/2/3: Increases damage of Marine and Ghost by +1 per level and Firebat by +2 per level. (Cost: [100/175/250]/[100/175/250]; Time: [168/188/208])
 * Infantry Armor 1/2/3: Increases armor of SCV, Marine, Firebat, Medic, and Ghost by +1 per level. (Cost: [100/175/250]/[100/175/250]; Time: [168/188/208])

Missile Turret
The Missile Turret is a ground-to-air defensive structure, attacking any air unit in sight. They discourage opponents from dropping their units off in your base, because it's much easier to kill an Overlord and the Ultralisks inside it than to kill the Ultralisks after they've been dropped. A long line of Turrets occupying a strategic bluff or pass (hopefully backed up with ground support units) can have a psychological effect on a human opponent. Turrets cost 75 minerals apiece, and are worth having sprinkled around your base because they are "detectors", which reveal other players' Cloaked units. In addition to building Turrets to detect cloaked attacks before they reach a base, it is usually worthwhile to construct Turrets inside the base to prevent cloaked units from hiding inside. It is important to note, however, that Turrets are vulnerable to ground attacks, since they can only attack air units.

Factory
One of the Terrans' most important structures, the Factory produces the Siege Tank, as well as Vultures and Goliaths. The Factory costs 200 minerals and 100 Vespene, and the Machine Shop can be added on. The Factory can lift off, but it will leave the Machine Shop behind; it can also connect to idle Machine Shops.

Machine Shop
The Machine Shop add-on provides upgrades to units produced in the Factory. It is required to build Siege Tanks. It can research the Siege Mode upgrade, as well as Spider Mines and a speed upgrade for Vultures, and in Brood War an upgrade that extends the range of the Goliath's anti-air missiles.

Armory
The Armory provides weapon and armor upgrades for vehicles produced from the Factory and Starport--up to three levels for each. It also allows for the production of Goliaths from the Factory and, in Brood War, Valkyries from the Starport.

Starport
The Starport produces air units: Wraiths, Dropships, Battlecruisers, Science Vessels, and Valkyries in Brood War. It can lift off but in doing so loses any Control Tower expansions it has built.

Control Tower
The Control Tower is required to build most of the Starport's units (only the Wraith and in Brood War the Valkyrie can be built without it). It can research Wraith Cloaking and an energy upgrade which allows Wraiths to remain Cloaked for a longer time.

Science Facility
The Science Facility is the most advanced research structure the Terrans can build. The Science Facility researches a number of abilities for the Science Vessel, and also allows more advanced weapon and armor upgrades for both infantry (at the Engineering Bay) and mechanical units (at the Armory). It can lift off, but by doing so it will leave behind any addon it has connected to it.

Physics Lab
The Physics Lab is an addon for the Science Facility. It is required to build the Battlecruiser, and to research upgrades for the Battlecruiser. These upgrades are the Yamato Cannon, a very powerful weapon which can kill most units in a single shot, and the Colossus Reactor, which allows a Battlecruiser to fire the Yamato Cannon more frequently.

Covert Ops
The Covert Ops station allows you to build Ghosts and Nuclear Silos. It also provides a number of research options for the Ghost. Cloaking allows a Ghost to become invisible for a short time is a good idea when approaching an opponent's base to use Nuclear Missiles. Lockdown is an ability which disables mechanical units, preventing them from attacking or even moving; it is useful to neutralize and destroy approaching air fleets. Also available are Ocular Implants, which increase the Ghost's sight range to maximize scouting/Nuke targeting abilities, and the Mobius Reactor, which allows the Ghost an extra 50 energy capacity so it can remain Cloaked longer.