System Seige

Overview System Siege is not a typical hackathon. It's a systems-focused engineering competition designed to test your ability to do much more than write code. You need to: Build - a product from zero that actually solves a real problem Ship - it live and make it work under real conditions Think adversarially - assume someone will try to break it, because they will Respond under pressure - detect bugs, understand root causes, push fixes fast Recover gracefully - get knocked down by attacks and climb back up Communicate clearly - document assumptions, explain your fixes, help others understand your system This event rewards teams that show strong engineering judgment across the entire lifecycle — not just building, but breaking, defending, learning, and hardening under pressure. The best teams won't be the ones with zero bugs. They'll be the ones who find the most, fix the fastest, and keep standing when the final whistle blows. Eligibility Guidelines Open to: All Undergraduates Team size: 2 to 4 members per team Fee: Per Team 300/- Team composition: Inter-college teams allowed. Inter-specialization teams allowed. Requirements: All team members must actively participate in building, defending, and presenting. Project ownership: All code must be original work created by your team during the event. What You Can Build Your project must be deployable, testable, and accessible during the entire event. Allowed project types: Web applications APIs with usable interfaces or documentation Browser-based tools and utilities Dashboards or workflow systems Containerized multi-service systems Not allowed: Projects that depend on hardware devices Mobile apps or emulator-based systems Kernel-level OS modifications Non-functional mockups or slides Projects that need manual environment rescue during the event Problem Statements will be provided at the venue for your choosing. Hackathon Structure & Duration Phase 1: Build Window Duration: 6 Hours When: 16/07/2026 → 16/07/2026 What happens: Your team builds and deploys an MVP Your repository and deployment URLs are hidden from other teams Bug reporting is not allowed yet Organizers run a basic sanity check to confirm your system is accessible If deployment is broken at the deadline, organizers may allow a short grace period What you submit: GitHub repository link (with complete source code, README, and setup instructions) Deployed application link or a working access method Short project description Assumptions and known limitations (be honest about this) Setup/usage instructions (if required) Phase 2: Live Game Window Duration: Continuous, 18 Hours When: 16/07/2026 → 17/07/2026 What changes: Repositories and deployments become visible to all teams The live leaderboard goes public Bug reporting opens — teams can now attack each other Live game rules activate — scoring, decay, recovery What you do: Keep building your product — add features, improve UX, make it production-ready Attack other teams — find bugs in their systems, file well-written GitHub issues, stake points Defend your own — respond to incoming bug reports, triage them, patch real issues, verify fixes Stay active for the full 24 hours — the leaderboard is designed so no team gets eliminated early; anyone can climb back up What gets scored: Build score: Awarded at the start of live game based on your MVP quality (40 points max) Attack points: Earned when your bug reports are validated by the defending team Recovery points: Earned when your fixes are verified by attacking teams Time decay: Unpatched bugs bleed your score every minute until fixed Scoring System Explained Everyone starts at 100 points. You gain or lose points through: Attacking (finding bugs): File a valid bug report → your points are at risk (you stake them) Bug is accepted as valid → you get points + your stake back Bug is invalid → you lose your stake Defending (fixing bugs): An accepted bug in your system bleeds your score continuously over time Fix the bug and get it verified → you recover significant points + stop the bleed The faster you fix, the less damage taken Build evaluation: Your initial MVP quality determines your build score (up to 40 points added at game start) Strong architecture, clear design, good documentation = higher build score No eliminations: The system has a score floor of 25 points. No team drops below that during the event. Weak performance hurts your ranking, but everyone stays in the game. Evaluation Criteria Teams are evaluated across: Solution quality & technical design — 25% Engineering execution — 25% Reliability and deployment stability — 20% Attack quality — 15% Defense and recovery speed — 15% Rules & Regulations During the event: Original work only — All code, designs, and solutions must be created by your team during the hackathon. No pre-built projects. Use of external libraries is allowed — Open-source frameworks, APIs, and tools are fair game. You're building a product, not reinventing wheels. Deployed and accessible at all times — Your application must be live and reachable throughout the entire event. If it goes down, inform organizers immediately. GitHub is your workspace — All code pushes, bug discussions, and fixes happen in GitHub. The event portal only tracks issue links and scores. Bug reports must be valid — Vague, misleading, fabricated, or non-reproducible reports will be disputed and rejected. Provide steps to reproduce. Show evidence. Severity levels matter: SL-1 (Critical): Complete feature failure, unauthorized access, serious data exposure (stake 30 points) SL-2 (Moderate): Broken workflows, incorrect logic, partial failures (stake 15 points) SL-3 (Low): Weak documentation, poor edge cases, unclear assumptions (stake 5 points) Response windows are strict: Defending teams have 20 minutes to accept, dispute, or ignore a bug report Attacking teams have 15 minutes to verify a submitted fix Auto-accept/auto-verify happens if no response No intentional vulnerabilities — You cannot plant bugs intentionally to farm points or manipulate the game. Bring your own setup — All team members must bring laptops, chargers, and any required hardware. We provide venue and mentorship, not equipment. Be present at all checkpoints — Teams must be available at assigned tables during review sessions and interactions with organizers. Unethical behavior = disqualification False or fabricated bug reports Plagiarism or code theft Coordination with other teams to manipulate scores Harassment or abuse Any misconduct decided by organizers Organizers have final say — All decisions on disputes, invalid reports, and rule violations are made by the organizing committee. No exceptions. What You Need to Submit Before the build window ends: GitHub repository link — With all source code, complete README, setup instructions, and known limitations Deployed application link — A working URL where judges and other teams can access your product Project description — 1-2 sentences about what your product does Domain — Which category does it belong to (web, API, tool, dashboard, etc.) Team members — Names and contact info of all team members During the live game: GitHub issues — Bug reports filed against other teams' repositories Fixes — Comments on GitHub issues explaining root cause and linking to commits Fix verification requests — Marking issues as fixed on the event portal The Vibe This is a hackathon for people who: Love building real things — Not slides or mockups. Working software. Think like engineers — Can design, implement, test, and defend their work under pressure. Are competitive but fair — You want to win, but you respect good engineering in other teams. Learn from failure — Getting attacked is valuable. It teaches you what you missed. Can handle chaos — 24 hours of continuous building, attacking, and defending is exhausting and exhilarating. If you like traditional hackathons, you might find System Siege intense. If you're bored by traditional hackathons, System Siege is exactly what you've been waiting for. Final Words System Siege doesn't reward perfect, untouchable code. It rewards teams that: Build smart solutions fast Understand their vulnerabilities Respond to attacks thoughtfully Fix problems thoroughly Keep their cool under pressure Learn and adapt on the fly Come ready to ship, defend, attack, and recover. Bring your A-game. Bring your team. The leaderboard is waiting.