Creating counters - from a grid?

Its been a while since I tried my hand at creating a .mod. In days past, each game counter had to be its own file. Has anything changed such that I can create an array of counters (like you would do in Illustrator), and Vassal can display the correct game piece by using a grid location ? Instead of identifying an explicit file to use, instead be able to say “display counter at x,y” ?

thanks,

Mad Dog