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When I look at a mod's files, I see GameInfo folder, Texture folder, etc, and the manifest files for them. A mod for Diplomacy doesn't seem much different from that for Entrenchment, at first glance. All the same sort of stuff.
Why then, do mods not work across expansions? What is the difference? Is it the String files or something?
The string file doesnt really do much, there are only minor parts of that file that actually matter (the Galaxy references for example), the main differences can be found within the GameInfo folder, new lines are added to certain files and changes made to the "PlayerRACE.entity" files which arent cross expansion compatible, and without those lines causes minidumps. There are also a few new "aiusetime" commands available in diplomacy which wouldnt work in entrenchment and would also cause issues.
Just these minor little things can cause an entire mod not to work very easily.
Also to put it in another way, the different expansions contain different lines in the filestructure, if just one single line doesn't match with the version of the game it will minidump.
One example could be to type ApplybuffToSelf instead of ApplyBuffToSelf which will cause the whole game to crash when activating the mod, had a lot of "fun" with those in the past and still somewhat now Dev.exe ftw 
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Its a alternative version of the normal game, they can be found in the install folder since sins 1.81 and entrenchment 1.041. They have certain features which make modding and especially debugging a dream (well more of a dream). it for example shows all errors in the game, so if had my previus example it would say that it couldn't find the enum value "ApplybuffToSelf". Also if line was written as bufftype instead of buffType it would say that the line number xx in xxxxxxx file named bufftype should have been named buffType (makes upgrading versions a lot easier).
It also allow altering files on the run, so if i change the shield of a unit the change is applied instantly, that way I won't have to constantly reload the mod/game. It can also open a menu which can change a lot of aspects of the current game making testing certain things easier and faster.
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