First off thank you for making this as your next patch, I'm really excited for it! 
But there are two things I really hope this new expansion includes, to flesh out the international and wide-scope of the banking families:
1) A link to the Muslim world, even the merchants of Gotland used Arab Dirhams (coinage) when trading, and although I'm not going to go as far as asking for Muslim merchant families to be somehow implemented, it would be nice to see the Genoese and Venetian trading families making inroads into the Red Sea trade through Egypt and the Silk trade through Anatolia, and represent their dealings with Muslims and Crusader Kingdoms.
It should be noted that the Italian merchant families bankrolled a lot of transportation for the Crusaders to get to the Holy Land, so there involvement should somehow be represented, for example in Richard the Lionhearts sale of Cyprus to the Venetians to raise a fleet.
2) I would recommend for great gameplay the rivalry between the Byzantine Emperors and the Venetians/Genoans (mostly Venetians however), and the trading rivalry that occurred. If a merchant family gets rich enough, they should be able to influence Crusades, with the possibility of "buying out" a Crusade to attack a selected target, most likely for the AI at least, that target being Constantinople, and the setting up of a puppet state (Latin Empire).
Fun Fact: Enrico Dandolo the famed blind Doge of Venice is actually buried in the Hagia Sophia (Istanbul), but when Mehmed the Conquerer captured the city in 1453, soldiers thinking he was connected to the royal family, dug up his bones, and threw them to the dogs. You can still see his name carved into the second floor of the Hagia Sophia.
Basically it would be nice to see the trading families, especially the Italian ones expand their reach farther than just their neighbourhood, but have a unique way to interact with Muslim rulers, by trading with them and opening up trade stations in the Holy Land and in Egypt and of course in the Byzantine Empire. They were as important to Europe as they were to the Middle East as middle men, transporting goods to Europe.
Here is a map of Venetian trade post locations, you can see its far reach, not only into the Middle East but also into the Black Sea:
Also I hope there will be new unique merchant family traits to gain, like there was in the Sword of Islam expansion.
But there are two things I really hope this new expansion includes, to flesh out the international and wide-scope of the banking families:
1) A link to the Muslim world, even the merchants of Gotland used Arab Dirhams (coinage) when trading, and although I'm not going to go as far as asking for Muslim merchant families to be somehow implemented, it would be nice to see the Genoese and Venetian trading families making inroads into the Red Sea trade through Egypt and the Silk trade through Anatolia, and represent their dealings with Muslims and Crusader Kingdoms.
It should be noted that the Italian merchant families bankrolled a lot of transportation for the Crusaders to get to the Holy Land, so there involvement should somehow be represented, for example in Richard the Lionhearts sale of Cyprus to the Venetians to raise a fleet.
2) I would recommend for great gameplay the rivalry between the Byzantine Emperors and the Venetians/Genoans (mostly Venetians however), and the trading rivalry that occurred. If a merchant family gets rich enough, they should be able to influence Crusades, with the possibility of "buying out" a Crusade to attack a selected target, most likely for the AI at least, that target being Constantinople, and the setting up of a puppet state (Latin Empire).
Fun Fact: Enrico Dandolo the famed blind Doge of Venice is actually buried in the Hagia Sophia (Istanbul), but when Mehmed the Conquerer captured the city in 1453, soldiers thinking he was connected to the royal family, dug up his bones, and threw them to the dogs. You can still see his name carved into the second floor of the Hagia Sophia.
Basically it would be nice to see the trading families, especially the Italian ones expand their reach farther than just their neighbourhood, but have a unique way to interact with Muslim rulers, by trading with them and opening up trade stations in the Holy Land and in Egypt and of course in the Byzantine Empire. They were as important to Europe as they were to the Middle East as middle men, transporting goods to Europe.
Here is a map of Venetian trade post locations, you can see its far reach, not only into the Middle East but also into the Black Sea:
Also I hope there will be new unique merchant family traits to gain, like there was in the Sword of Islam expansion.
