Particle Engine tutorial?

[Auraomega]

Hi,

I'm looking for a good particle engine tutorial that uses C/++, or some heavy theory to cover how to create different effects. I've got my own pretty bog-standard engine in OGL but it fails with any real effects, and I can't think of how to make it do anything sexy, like fire

 

[Auraomega]

3D preferably. I was always led to believe that fire was based off of particle engines just with different effects on the particle? I asked for some theory or a tutorial so I could understand how one was designed and what I'd need to learn in order to make my own. Surely though, if my CPU can handle fire in older games like Painkiller and what not, I'll be able to make something that doesn't make my CPU weep