Regarding the friend system: With our 1.7.3 update we have updated our friend and presence system quite substantially based on changes from Epic’s side.
The downside of the updated system is that to progress a friend request, both players must be online at the same time at some point. You can send a friend request to another player while they are offline, but they will only receive it once both of you are online at the same time. This also applies to responding to a friend request.
We understand this makes trading more difficult to set up, and are looking into solutions.

↻ Changed: You can no longer save when exiting a Creative Mode map from „Play Test“ mode, as this led to some unintended interactions.

✓ Fixed: Bookshelfs on 'Kasbah le Ribat' and and the bedroom in the Imposturous Map being too dark
✓ Fixed: Multiple issues with the friends system. There may still be more issues found, please let us know if you find any.
✓ Fixed: Invisible hunter blockers in Creative Mode taking up static spots. These hunter blockers are now visible, so if you noticed this happening on your map you can now remove them.
✓ Fixed: Frozen props moving around on clients.