I'm sorry for the late reply. It's Yes to all 3 questions.
Also I tried to continue after the hotfix was mentioned but it didn't solve the problem unfortunately. I'm not even entirely sure I got that fix. Steam says my client is top notch though so I should have.
Same situation - I try to enter Brass Citadel, the load screen pops up, screen goes dark again and shows the version number in the upper right hand corner, then throws me back to the title screen.
I am aware that your "workaround" is not meant to be taken entirely serious but that simply isn't an option for me anyway. I really don't want to leave content on the side just so I can "get done" with the game. Question being if I'm even still interested in finishing the game when they get around to patching this bug out.
Ah well, it was fun up until then at least.