Can I share max file assets with external version control support like I can with Unity Asset Server?

Specifically the way we used to do things when we used Unity Asset Server is that the artist would drop a max file into the project, Unity would presumably convert it to FBX under the hood, and when the artist submitted the asset the meta data, etc would come along with it. Other people (who did not necessarily have Max installed) could update and see the asset just fine.

When we switched to using external version control (specifically SVN), this pipeline doesn't work anymore. Every time I start Unity it modifies the .meta files (removing a bunch of data that used to be there) and complains that 3ds Max isn't installed.

My question is two fold:

  1. Am I supposed to be able to do (Max file sharing) while enabling external version control, or do I have to tell our artists to export everything to FBX manually?
  2. If I am, is there a bug in the latest Unity 3 beta that prevents that from happening?

If you are using SVN (or any external version control software) the asset and it’s associated meta file must be checked in together. (As per the information at http://unity3d.com/support/documentation/Manual/ExternalVersionControlSystemSupport.html).