Just popping in to say I like this world alot =) I used to play grepolis back in 2010-2011 in world Zeta and now this world is giving me a very similar chance for a comeback. Didn't get lucky with my starting position but I'm trying to make the best of what I have.
As far as gold comes, that's pretty much the only real income aside from advertising this game has and it wouldn't live very long without it. If you look at similar games, gold is rather un-substantial here, in other games you pretty much can't reach anywhere near the top without gold, but here you can do anything, gold is just a bonus for making your gaming experience more enjoyable and comfortable.