Weird interactions between symbols grouped into assets. Distorted new symbols created with asset instantiation.

[GuyMiklos]

If I create an asset out of a grouped object that contains a symbol, then change the symbol colour and stretch the asset instance, then create a new asset from the changed asset instance, a new symbol is created with the changed colour, but with distorted dimensions. If I then change that new, contained, symbol's colour, this does not update the asset (which I wouldn't expect) but then if I place the non-updated asset as an instance onto the artboard, then another distorted symbol with unchanged colour of the asset appears in the symbol library.

Whereas, If I select and, with the node tool, move nodes of a curve in a symbol that is also included in a group in an asset, then the nodes in the asset instances move relative to the non-symbol content in the asset instances. This happens to assets even when the symbol instance is not in the asset. Is this something to do with grouping? I can't make sense of this behaviour.

[Lee D]

@GuyMiklosSorry for the delay.

Can you do a screen recording of this workflow from the start as so far I can't replicate the issue. If I can I can the log it with the developers to investigate further.

[GuyMiklos]

I think there is more than one issue going on with this. One of the issues is more simply isolated, as the following.

Create a symbol. Create an asset that groups multiple objects, one of which is the symbol just created. Drag the asset onto the artboard. A duplicate icon of the symbol is reproduced in the Symbols Panel. The consequences of this are twofold.

1) the Symbols Panel becomes cluttered with duplicated Symbols for each new compound asset that contains a symbol.

2) when the original symbol is updated, it doesn't affect any of the assets that included the symbol.

I would expect no duplicates in the Symbols Panel, and that symbol instances in compound assets remain linked to the original and update when the original is updated. This would be a powerful way to create hybrid components in a drawing (I draw maps with many repeated, and mixed elements) that permits automatically updating symbol components of a group - such as a shape or colour, but that leave the text (with defined text styles) in a compound asset fully editable. 

This decoupling behaviour of assets decoupling from symbols is analogous to TextStyles becoming decoupled as soon as they are used in an asset, which I'm glad to say, doesn't happen.

My current use-case is defining templates for trees. The template is a group of a coloured circle symbol, a branching symbol for deciduous trees, a pink circle symbol for nitrogen fixing trees, and botanical name of the tree preformatted using TextStyle definitions. 

Is the there an intentional reason (such as a use-case) that requires assets to unlink from symbols. To my mind, this behaviour violates the frame rule (no-changes to the universe-of-discourse unless specified). Could you suggest a temporary work around.