"Megalopolis" is a map for the game Starcraft. It offers an interesting counterpoint to most other avilable maps for Starcraft. It was released as a Blizzard Map of the Week on September 3, 1999.

The trend in the multiplayer Starcraft scene for some time has been maps with virtually infinite amounts of money (such as Big Game Hunters), condensed into the areas each player starts in. This leads to maps entirely based around the prospect of building things as quickly as you can, without having to concentrate on anything else, like expanding. See also: there is no strategy in Starcraft.

Megalopolis is the complete opposite of this. Where these infinite money maps usually only have as many bases as they have players, Megalopolis has 43 bases in all. Each of these bases offers an amount of money that, while not insignifigant, will run out after a period of heavy mining. Each base is also easily defendable, with only one or two small enterances each. The map, to fit all these bases, is also the largest available size: 256 by 256 tiles.

The consequences of this are suprisingly far-reaching. The sheer size of the map, and its extreme clutter, make rushing tactics basically impossible (it takes too long to get from point A to point B). It also forces players to be slightly more defensive than they might otherwise be, as they are forced to expand in order to keep the income coming.

Games of humans versus humans are therefore usually more interesting than your average Big Game Hunters clickfest, but where this level truly shines is when fighting against the computer. Many Starcraft players have the computer mastered on infinite money maps; there is very little challenge there for the advanced player. Megalopolis is a different story. The computer is better at expanding than you. It will conquer at least a quarter of the map while you are still making your fourth (or, if you're really good, fifth) base. There are only two things working in your favor: the computer will waste all its money attacking your (hopefully strong) defenses, and you are far more efficient at using your money than the computer (I hope). That said, fighting a number of computers in this map with an equal number of humans is slating the odds in favor of the computer players. I have only a handful of times won with three people versus three computers, and only once won with two people versus three computers (and not for lack of trying).

The reason I like this level is not that it isn't an infinite money map, but that it actually forces players to use tactics completely opposed by those used in an infinite money map.

If you're interested, the map can be found at the applicable Blizzard Map of the Week page: http://www.battle.net/scc/OS/0999.shtml