A more interesting launch experience

[Kerberos]

Hit launch, watch rocket rise, done. It's a bit anti-climatic.

What if after a rocket launch every mob within ~1000 blocks charges at the launch point (a fast dissipating secondary pollution cloud) and you have to survive for 5 minutes (for the rocket to reach orbit). The same effect would happen with each subsequent launch.

[Matthias_Wlkp]

This sounds interesting.

Another way to do it would be to generate massive amount of pollution from the silo.

[daniel34]

This actually was the victory condition before Factorio 0.12.x:
https://wiki.factorio.com/Rocket_defense

The Rocket defense is used to protect the landing of the rescue fleet. After the landing has started the Aliens will not stop attacking the player until the landing has completed. This marks the end of the game.

[Hannu]

Then I would have to surround my base with double or triple walls and continuous line of laser or gun turrets. Which I have to do in any case if I make a large base which is intended to process tens of millions units of resources, launch hundreds of rockets and produce insane amount of pollution which spreads over several square kilometers. It probably would change order so that I build first very strong fully automated defense lines and begin mass production of rockets after that. Now I begin rocket production first and enforce defenses when needed. I am not interesting in victory conditions of Factorio (or any other game, I hate building games which end when I do something). In my opinion the most interesting phase of the game begins when I get regular automated rocket launches running.

[ssilk]

This had problems:
There was only a considerable attack, if the natives where near enough.
That was not always possible to find a way to the defense, cause the way was too long (pathfinder-cache needed too much memory).
They could come only from areas, that already had been generated. Invisible (uncharted) land is only generated up to 3 tiles around the charted area. If in that range would be no native, then no attack.

Once the player finds out, how to trick out this attack, you had nearly no attack. And logically: How should insects know, what will happen soon?

PS: I still think the attack in the end was a good idea, but I also think, that it must improve much. Especially the reason: Why should the natives attack? Is ten minutes waiting time not just too long? etc.