way back when, a good number of members spoke about an upgrade to the game for various reasons, mods, new races, etc, after awhile MM decided to release an upgrade (Gold) which would have all the mods, new races etc on the one cd, it also included a number of upgrades to the game itself in various areas, ie; drones and more. All or most of the modders all chipped in and helped create updated mods for the game and they were put on the cd along with the game. Which helped some of us more non computer literate people who had problems downloading mods etc.
In reality, Gold is an upgraded Version and well worth the cost if you enjoy the game. Nothing said you had to buy it, that was and is ones own choice to purchase. There are mods etc out there for the classic game as well as the gold Version. It depends on what you want or would like to play.
IMHO Gold is was well worth the cost, As far as I can remember, Gold came out after numerous requests from players and forum members, I don't believe MM originally intended to put out a Gold Version, How would they have known the number of mods etc that came about. But when they saw the support and interest they decided to put out an upgraded Version
just some ideas mac