Quick answer: Unity Collaborate-style merge silently overwriting binary texture changes? Binary file conflicts default to 'keep theirs' - configure git LFS lock policies or designate per-file owners.
Two artists edited the same texture this week. One's changes silently disappeared after merge.
Use git LFS file locking
git lfs lock path/to/file.psd. Other team members get a warning before editing. Conflicts become impossible.
Designate per-folder owners
CODEOWNERS file mapping art/characters/* to one artist. PR review gates structural binary changes.
Backup before merge
For binary-heavy projects, snapshot the assets folder before pulling. The snapshot is recoverable; the merge isn't.
“Binary merges are 'pick one'. Pick the wrong one, work is lost.”
If your team has more than two artists editing the same files, LFS locks are not optional. Set them up before the first conflict, not after.