Gold!

[Conan]

I can't believe that Gold is not considered a luxury resource. It is not until the modern age (late 20th century) that gold has any use for industry. Beyond that, Gold has always been a luxury.
Look at the Conquistadors of South and Central America in the
1500's.

 

[WUM]

well,
the gold-resource, as a bonus-resource, increases your income when that tile is worked at. So you get more money. You can choose whether you use this for luxury, science or just plain cash. Almost like real civilizations...

So the gold-resource-choice is a great choice!

 

[LordAzreal]

Originally posted by Conan
I can't believe that Gold is not considered a luxury resource. It is not until the modern age (late 20th century) that gold has any use for industry. Beyond that, Gold has always been a luxury.
Look at the Conquistadors of South and Central America in the
1500's.

Its true that gold could be made into things like crowns, sceptres and jewellry. However gold has been vital to most economies ever since the invention of currency (which was probably before jewellry was ever made with gold). Don't forget that gold's most common use has been to make coins. Therefore, it is better being a bonus resource which greatly boosts commerce than to be a luxury resource. Kingdoms which used gold for jewellry would've had to hire goldsmiths (which would be equivalent to increasing luxury rating in this game) before they could use it that way. Making coins is far simpler. Melt the gold into slugs and stamp it with the kingdom's heraldry. No expert craftsmanship required.

Furthermore, since it has increased in industrial uses (eg. computer chips) ever since the 20th Century, maybe Firaxis should make it so that discovering certain technologies (such as computers) increases the output (just like in Alpha Centauri).