All my admin counters have made an appearance in the DYI section:
Moved-Fired/Op Fire
Spotted/Smoke
Digging In/Dug In
Disrupted/Demoralized
Assault hex markers
To further complicate things, we will play
Double-Blind, when the scenario isn't overly large and there are lots of places to hide. When there are aren't too many places to hide and the scenario isn't "huge", we play with named leaders. (We are actually doing that now in PoE12.) Let me know if you want those counters.
I think that if AP went back to high-density 1mm cardstock, but kept the new counter texture, they would have things about right. A lighter shade would help too.