Likely around February - March, but we may have an Early Access launch before then (if we feel it's in good enough shape. We're not going to have DF-9 happen all over again)
I think what's important is how dedicated can you be to your own game. Even if the game is unplayable by the time you release it. (And early access is expected to be pretty unplayable) Weekly/monthly updates and just activity from the dev part is what really brings people around your game. And how the community starts to grow around it. Would be too if the game had mod support from the beginning since it's way harder to add later on, and interact with the steam workshop and other options you get from playing on steam!