wafer said:
Such as the Byzantines being able to enculture the former Balkan provences, the Muslims enculturing spain, the crusaders enculturing the Byzantine lands (fourth crusade), the Turks enculturing the Balkans (when added)
None of those actually assimilated the respective populations - the Balkan peoples kept their identity, despite being ruled by the Byzantines, the Latins couldn't really assimilate the Byzantines either, and the Ottomans also assimilated only small groups of people on the Balkans. And even then it took them centuries to do so. While in M&B the average player hardly plays for more than 1, max 2, in-game years. So - no, assimilation of the local population is a no-go for me, especially since we already have the changing of the castle troops when a castle gets conquered by another country (which reflects the change in leadership, although that isn't perfect either - f.e. if the Rus conquer a Cuman tribe, I doubt they'd realistically be able to suddenly start recruiting heavy infantry from it).
Claiming titles, though, would be just awesome. But I'm afraid that it's more suited for games like Crusader Kings though, not so much for M&B (alas). Otherwise, it would indeed be great if you (and the NPC kings and lords) could have long and elaborate titles, like "By the Grace of God, Holy Roman Emperor; King of Germany, Hungary, Bohemia, Dalmatia, Croatia, Slavonia, Galicia and Lodomeria, Rama, Serbia, Cumania and Bulgaria; Archduke of Austria; Duke of Burgundy, Lorraine, Styria, Carinthia, Carniola, Grand Duke of Etruria; Grand Prince of Transylvania; Margrave of Moravia, Prince of Brabant, Limburg, Luxembourg, Geldern, Württemberg, Upper and Lower Silesia, Milan, Mantua, Parma, Piacenza, Guastalla, Auschwitz and Zatoria, Calabria, Bar, Ferrete and Teschen; Lord of Svevia and Charleville; Count of Habsburg, Flanders, Hannonia, Kyburg, Gorizia, Gradisca; Margrave of Burgau, Upper and Lower Lusatia, Pont-a-Mousson and Nomenum, Count of Provinces of Namur, Valdemons, Albimons, Count of Zütphen, Sarverda, Salma and Falkenstein, Lord of the Wend Margravate and Mechelen, etc." or "Emperor and Autocrat of all the Russias, of Moscow, Kiev, Vladimir, Novgorod, Tsar of Kazan, Tsar of Astrakhan, Tsar of Poland, Tsar of Siberia, Tsar of Chersonesos Taurica, Tsar of Georgia, Lord of Pskov, and Grand Duke of Smolensk, Lithuania, Volhynia, Podolia, and Finland, Prince of Estland, Livland, Courland and Semigalia, Samogitia, Belostok, Karelia, Tver, Yugra, Perm, Vyatka, Bulgaria and other territories; Lord and Grand Duke of Nizhni Novgorod, Sovereign of Chernigov, Ryazan, Polotsk, Rostov, Yaroslavl, Beloozero, Udoria, Obdoria, Kondia, Vitebsk, Mstislavl, and all northern territories; Sovereign of Iveria, Kartalinia, and the Kabardinian lands and Armenian territories – hereditary Lord and Ruler of the Circassians and Mountain Princes and others; Lord of Turkestan, Heir of Norway, Duke of Schleswig-Holstein, Stormarn, Dithmarschen, Oldenburg, and so forth, and so forth, and so forth."