I think gems should be much, much rarer. I played a game where every time you mined, you had a 0.05% chance to find a gem. It was so much more exciting when you found one! Perhaps we can make this change after beta?
Well, you must have a lucky pick! With all the mining I've done I have only found two diamonds----thank goodness for the ambers and other stones. At level 23, I would still be working to buy a house if the ratio was changed. Earning currents, particularly at the lower levels, is hard enough without messing with the gem ratio.
I'm rather happy with the gems the way they are. I can sell them to get more currants to buy stuff I need or I can donate them. They certainly don't seem all that common.
I too like it just where it is. Otherwise, mining really wouldn't be very profitable considering 1) the cost of Earthshakers/food, combined with 2) the fact that most people grind ore for elements.
I am in the camp that, as it stands, there is probably too much cash in the game. But it works for a beta with limited up time (accelerating everything). I certainly have found by the time I got to Mining III and level 30 that I can strip mine a region in no time and end up with a bag of gems and tons of elements.
Really. When doing my treasure hunt, it probably took one game day to fill a bag with Mining II. Now, at Mining III, I went from being stable with cash at about 3000 currents to having 25,000 and stopping be produce vendors to make out my veggie slots and regularly buying Crystalizers to throw into shines. I have to stop by vendors to sell gems just to make more room for bonus items.
Maybe it's just me though.
What Dethe said when balanced would work great as a change as long as you can still donate pricey gems for favor points. It would open up a ton of pack space, too.
I think everyone that says there's too much cash in the game should give it to me--I can never hold on to mine for very long. Then again, I don't really sell items: I use the stuff I gather to make things I need, donate to projects, and donate to giants to increase my learning speed.