The latest from Shogun at the .com as of December 10th:
To discuss this, click here.The Patch
I know some of you are getting inpatient and feel we are not keeping you informed, we do not want to rush the patch out before it is ready. We have been reading the forums from Day 1 and want to make sure that we address as much as possible. The patch is extensive in the issues it addresses which include battle map AI, AI, UI issues, balancing, multiplayer, and general bugs (to name just a few).
Up till now we have been hesitant to issue a date for the patch as we have not wanted to give out any misleading information. We now feel confident enough to say that the patch will be out no later than the middle of January. However bare in mind that it will need to go through QA which is an exhaustive process and this is why we only get the one chance to get it right. Please bear with us as we have been working very hard to make this patch as good as it can be and I know it will be worth the wait.