A CTF is a game that one plays by programming. I wish I could point you to competing CTFs that you can sign up and play right now, but most disappear from the Internet because they are fiendishly difficult to keep running. Ask me (or any team that has shipped one) why if you're curious.
One example would be MicroCorruption. https://microcorruption.com Thomas and Erin helped build it back when they were still at Matasano. It's a hybrid of a game -- there's a narrative, flavor text, a progression of difficulty, levels, a leaderboard, etc -- and a programming assignment. The programming assignment happens to be some variant of "Here's assembly code; find an input which exploits the vulnerability we planted in it."
Starfighter CTFs will similarly be a game that one plays by programming. Similarities end there. We can do very interesting things with this.
So, for those of us who fit your archetype, that mostly build web apps in high-level languages like Python, haven't touched Assembly in a decade, but do not have a team of seasoned hackers hanging out with us in our living rooms, what are the odds that we're going to be able to use it to refine our skills in isolation?
I fully understand that if your company is looking for pen testers, I'm not the guy you'd hire. That's cool, but since one of the aims is developing and refining skill, how approachable is it intended to be?
This game is not for people who like you (or me) don't have much interest in assembly, systems programming or pen testing. (This group includes, by the way, a large group of very talented programmers who've shipped most of the software the world uses).
It is troubling that the language they use on the site implies that systems and security programming is what all programmers aspire to do, but that's just an unfortunate bias on the part of the authors. Personally, I think they'd do well to change it, but perhaps that's exactly how they feel and exactly the kind of messaging they need to attract the right people.
I find this to be an issue with many of the articles linked on this site. They refer to 'hackers' or 'programmers' .It usually means people doing some sort of web app, or related thing, and it usually doesnt apply to me at all though I know I'm a very good programmer. I make games.
I have a background in architecture, its a mature industry and there are architects, structural engineers, mechanical and electrical engineers, architectural technologists, quantity surveyors, project managers etc.
Perhaps as coding as a job matures over the decades this process will also take place.
Or, much more commonly, it's a popular game mode in any number of multiplayer games. You're using some really niche jargon without properly qualifying it.
When somebody asks for a definition of a word, it's not generally considered necessary to explain the term and then also go into detail regarding other, unrelated definitions of the term.
They're operational nightmares. Among other reasons, their designed intent is to allow untrusted users to execute arbitrary computer code on your infrastructure. The abuse problems are mammoth, the not-malicious-but-still-bugged submissions from users even worse. They have lots of moving parts, most of which are more complicated than standard CRUD app components.
Also, fundamentally, a CTF is a distraction from the core business everywhere it runs.
One example would be MicroCorruption. https://microcorruption.com Thomas and Erin helped build it back when they were still at Matasano. It's a hybrid of a game -- there's a narrative, flavor text, a progression of difficulty, levels, a leaderboard, etc -- and a programming assignment. The programming assignment happens to be some variant of "Here's assembly code; find an input which exploits the vulnerability we planted in it."
Starfighter CTFs will similarly be a game that one plays by programming. Similarities end there. We can do very interesting things with this.