ASE Import or writing an ASE Importer

We've had many problems trying to get 3DS Max to export FBX files cleanly and our artist really prefers the simpler ASE format. So I really want to know if there's a way to write our own ASE importer into Unity. Or has anyone written one already? Unity3d claims many 3D model import formats but they all seem to just use the FBX exporter. Is it possible to avoid using the FBX format all together?

You can use DAE (if you need animation), or OBJ/3ds if you want to import only models.

What exactly doesn't work for you with FBX? Which 3dsMax are you on? Which FBX plugin? It's always recommended to have latest FBX plugins (FBX 2011.3). See if that solves your problems.