Friction

Friction was first properly discussed in Karl Von Clausewitz's classic treatise "On War".Clausewitz had seen a lot, he'd been a staff officer in both the Prussian and Russian armies during the Napoleonic wars, he knew what it was to see a great general and a veteran army be destroyed by over confidence and an added bit of Russian winter.One of his quotes sums it up the best:"Everything in war is very simple. But the simplest thing is difficult."The idea is that in the confusion and uncertainty of the campaign and especially the battle, everything you would expect to be simple and easy suddenly becomes difficult as a result of the aforementioned confusion and uncertainty. Unforeseen events, changed conditions and simple misunderstandings make everything take longer or be botched.Now - how does this apply to Blackwake?Well - Blackwake's a simple game.At its heart all you do is load cannons or repair stuff.All you do as captain is point your guns at the enemy so your gunners can shoot, right?Wrong.That 13 year old shouting in your ear is explaining to his mum why he can't come to dinner. He is now distracted and that's one less gun shooting in that broadside.One shot less.There's a newbie who doesn't understand that it takes 3 seconds for their gun to shoot. And so they miss.There goes another shot.Some troll has shot off a gun randomly just before and now your crew is still reloading it.And other shot bites the dust.Despite your shouts for your crew to hold fire, another guy fires off a gun at empty sea.Guess what. Your 8 gun broadside on your galleon is now reduced to four. Through no fault of your own. It wouldn't matter how awesome you were as a captain. This could be your first time, it could be your 100th.And the enemy - thanks to whatever cruel god - just happens - as always - to unload a full broadside into you.Say it's the start of the game. You're trying to make up lost ground before it has even started. And none of those examples involve an sort of combat.Friction are all these situations. They can be just random stupidity on your side. It can manifest during enemy action - and it only gets worse from there. I'm sure you'll have seen such cases by now.There is nothing you can do about friction. Stuff just happens. Internets fail, real life rears its ugly head, the enemy will fire back and you must always remember that the second most abundant particle in the universe (after hydrogen) is stupidity.But you can learn to live with it and try and try and soften some of the worst cases.Make it clear that people messing around throwing water over you or standing around aren't helping. Be firm, but not rude.Keep people informed. Let them know how the battle is going and what the ship is doing. The chances are they'll recognise what to do better if they know the situation.Friction happens no matter what, but recognising it and understanding when it will happen and how to come back from it is a vital skill.Situations of high friction include:An enemy's broadside hitting you.A ramming action.A boarding actionBeing grappled.In these situations, do not expect even a minority of your crew to follow your orders. They'll do their best, but remember that to meet the situation they must move often a long distance, will often stay at their current job until it is done, and of course may be killed or be about to be killed.It is important I put friction front and centre in this guide.There is a danger that in my discussion of tactics and the 5 situations that I give the impression that all you need to do is perform a magic formula and your victory will be assured. All these situations and maneuvers hinge upon your crew being a coherent force whose effectiveness is not destroyed by friction. It is entirely possible for you to pull off the perfect maneuver and your crew to entirely fail to capitalise thanks to the friction they are suffering under.Friction is the nature of any human endeavour, but it is magnified in times of intense action (for example Blackwake), learn to live with it - and you will be well on your way to being able to survive any situation you encounter.