You might be making the game harder than it needs to be. Use what comes in the box, every Starter Kit is self-contained, and what is and is not included becomes evident. No counters for building levels means no running up and down the stairs. No covered arc counters for MGs = no fixed covered arcs for MGs. No fire lane counters and, you guessed it, no fire lanes.
Maybe as well as a PTO Starter Kit we need a DTO version. The SSRs in a lot of SK scenarios give a good approximation of ASL concepts, and that approach might work for desert fighting. Hillocks might be best avoided, however.
I hazard a guess that you might not have understood JR's point. For an ASLer, SK is simple. What is difficult is the "un-learning" of rules. Imagine it as driving a car for years. When you change lanes, you subconsciously put on the turn signal (well, at least an orderly German does...). In ASL you have that "turn signal". In SK it ain't there. Still, you will subconsciously try to use it and would have to actively concentrate on NOT doing so. That is true for many rules that are not there in SK. And concentrating on lots of things that suddenly
aren't there is not easy. You really need to learn to view the board and the situation with different eyes just as one would need to do when playing PTO or Night in ASL.
And I believe you are still on the wrong track in what you think is needed for SK: PTO? Or even DTO? Nah.
The appeal of non-ASL players to SK is that SK is simple. With PTO or DTO you would either make it
not simple or you would
not get the PTO or DTO that you expect. If you want to swim, you have to contend with getting wet. If you want to stay dry, whatever you do - it won't be swimming.
von Marwitz