Fast Expanding with Zerg

I understang the Fast Expand concept and have employed it. However, I find myself to nervous to FE and end up doing 1 base. The problem is that I get stuck in one base and to focused on offense, neglecting to expand out. I feel if I had a better idea of when to expand, this would fix my problem.

My question is, when you scout your opponent, what are you looking for that allows you to FE or raises flags that tells you to one base for awhile? And if you one base, when is it best to expand?

Solution 1:

If you see your opponent expanding, you know it's safe to expand. He's spending minerals to expand, which will delay his attack and give you time to get up defenses for your expansion if necessary.

If you see the makings of an aggressive build (early spawning pool or multiple barracks/gateways), you may want to hold back on your expansion until you see exactly what he's doing. A fast attack will beat a fast expand every time.

If you see your opponent building to turtle, then expanding is your best option. He will be stuck in his base and is essentially giving you free reign over the rest of the map. The best way to defeat a turtler is through macro.

Solution 2:

One factor not mentioned yet is map size, or more accurately, rush distance. How long does it take to reach your base from theirs? The shorter the distance, the more you need to be concerned about a rush, as you will have less time to prepare. This is related to map size, but is also affected by the layout. some small maps can have a pretty long rush distance, while a bigger map with no terrain could allow a rush to run straight from one base to another. if you scout a bunch of units leaving their base on a short rush distance map, you won't have time to throw down spine crawlers or pump units instead of drones. On a long rush distance map, you can start pumping units when they push out, and have a small army when they finally arrive.