Dungeons of Dredmor developer Gaslamp Games announces an August 15th start date for early access to Clockwork Empire, their steampunk sandbox building and management game, which is currently available via the more unusual "earliest access." They promise frequent updates, and offer the following list of features that will be present when early access begins:

• Build a colony and your character, each with unique histories: The colony set in a Victorian steampunk era, populated by the lower, middle and upper class characters, have their own memories and unfolding futures which are shaped by the player’s choices.
• Free-form goals: Every scenario is what the player makes of it. As the player colonizes an unknown land, objectives are handed down by “The Empire,” but players may choose to align with another faction - or none at all - if so they desire.
• Cosmic Horror, Factories, Booze, Science, Farming, and more: Complete with all the elements for an industrial revolution, a colonial society pushed too far will begin to break down and unleash horrors such as cultists, marauding fish-people, axe murders, and things darker still from beyond the stars.