Privacy & Terms
The legal agreement and privacy disclosures between you ("User") and Civil Systems LLC governing the web simulation (Critical Path) and mobile apps (Plats, Rocky Ship).
Last updated & effective · August 29, 2026
Part 1 · Privacy Policy
Because our applications serve vastly different functions, our data collection practices are strictly separated by platform.
Critical Path is a cloud-hosted educational simulation that requires user accounts, persistent save states, and payment processing. To provide this service, we collect and share data with secure third-party processors.
Data we collect
- Account data: email addresses and profile identifiers required for authentication.
- Telemetry & progress: session duration (tracked on active projects only), scenario completion status, and Professional Development Hour (PDH) calculations.
Third-party processors
- Supabase: secure authentication, database hosting, and session tracking via local browser storage and functional cookies.
- Stripe: processes all financial transactions. Civil Systems LLC does not collect, process, or store credit card numbers. Stripe uses functional cookies strictly for payment security and fraud prevention.
- Resend: delivery of automated transactional communications (login links, password resets).
Academic & enterprise cohorts
If you access a project using an enterprise access code from a university, instructor, or corporate administrator, your gameplay progress, completion status, and PDH records may be shared directly with the designated instructor or administrator managing that cohort.
Neither Plats nor Rocky Ship collects, stores, transmits, or shares any personal information.
- We do not collect personally identifiable information, location data, or device identifiers.
- We do not use third-party analytics to track your usage behavior in these mobile environments.
- Optional in-app purchases are processed securely through the Google Play Store billing system. Civil Systems LLC has no access to your payment information or billing address.
This site has no accounts, no analytics, no advertising, and no tracking cookies. We do not know who you are, and we do not build a profile of your visit.
Local browser storage
Two functional values are saved in your own browser's local storage. They stay on your device, are never transmitted to us, and can be cleared at any time through your browser settings.
- civil-systems-mode: remembers whether you chose day or night display.
- cpmPuzzleStats: remembers your solved count and streak on the critical path puzzle.
Interactive simulations run on your device
The simulations on this site, including Communication Under Pressure, execute entirely inside your browser. Text you write into the negotiation composer is read by a small language model that downloads into your browser and runs locally. Nothing you type is sent to Civil Systems LLC, stored on a server, logged, or used for training. Closing the page discards it.
Third-party content delivery
To serve typefaces, animation libraries, and the on-device language model, pages on this site request files from the providers below. As an unavoidable part of delivering any file over the web, these providers receive your IP address, browser type, and the page that made the request. We set no cookies through them and receive no data back from them.
- Google Fonts (fonts.googleapis.com, fonts.gstatic.com): typefaces used across the site.
- jsDelivr (cdn.jsdelivr.net): open-source animation and rendering libraries.
- Hugging Face (huggingface.co): the language model file used by Communication Under Pressure, downloaded once and then run locally.
Contact form
The contact page is an exception to the rest of this section: submitting it sends your name, email, and message to Netlify's form-handling service so it can be routed to us, and Netlify's own privacy policy governs that transmission. We do not use it for anything beyond replying to you.
D · General provisions
Children's Privacy (COPPA): Our services are not directed to children under 13, and we do not knowingly collect personal information from children. Because our mobile applications operate without data collection, they inherently comply with the Children's Online Privacy Protection Act.
Policy updates: If our data collection practices change, we will update this policy and notify users through application updates or direct communication prior to implementing changes.
Part 2 · Terms of Service
By accessing, registering for, or interacting with Civil Systems LLC applications, you agree to be bound by these Terms of Service.
1 · Digital goods & the token economy (Critical Path)
Access to the Critical Path simulation is governed by a digital token system. When you purchase or are granted a "Token," you acquire a limited, revocable, non-exclusive, non-transferable license to access and execute a simulation project.
- No cash value: tokens are not real-world currency and cannot be redeemed for fiat, transferred between accounts, or sold to third parties.
- Non-refundable: all token purchases are final once the transaction is completed via our third-party payment processor.
- Session vs. PDH tracking: timeout limits and active-time tracking exist strictly for performance and abuse prevention. Time logged in does not dictate certified completion time — PDHs are calculated solely on the successful completion of discrete project scenarios.
2 · Enterprise & academic access codes
Users in academic coursework or corporate training may bypass the retail token system using cohort access codes. Access granted via these codes is strictly temporary and automatically expires at the conclusion of the designated organizational term (e.g., end of an academic semester). Upon expiration, any unplayed scenarios, incomplete projects, or unused licenses associated with that code are permanently forfeited.
3 · Professional certification disclaimer
Critical Path uses a standardized algorithmic calculation to award Professional Development Hours (PDHs) upon successful completion of scenarios. State engineering boards, credentialing agencies, and licensing authorities maintain independent requirements for continuing education. Civil Systems LLC makes no guarantee that the PDHs generated by this simulation will be recognized or accepted by your specific state licensing board. It is the user's sole responsibility to verify continuing education eligibility and submission requirements with their governing authority prior to use.
4 · Intellectual property & acceptable use
All software architecture, source code, visual interfaces, graphics, logic frameworks, and content are the exclusive intellectual property of Civil Systems LLC. You are granted a limited license to use the software for its intended educational and entertainment purposes. You agree not to reverse-engineer, decompile, scrape, copy, or distribute any part of the applications. Any attempt to artificially manipulate scenario outcomes, bypass token payment gateways, or falsify PDH certificates will result in immediate account termination without refund.
5 · Limitation of liability
To the maximum extent permitted by applicable law, Civil Systems LLC, its developers, and its affiliates shall not be liable for any indirect, incidental, special, consequential, or punitive damages arising from your use of, or inability to use, our applications — including damages related to the rejection of continuing education credits by a licensing board, loss of data, or interruption of academic coursework. The software is provided on an "AS IS" and "AS AVAILABLE" basis without warranties of any kind.
Contact
For questions or administrative support regarding your account, these terms, or our privacy practices:
- Support & inquiries: civilsystems.org/contact
- Platform access: civilsystems.org