You are an experienced programmer and have a problem with the engine, shaders, or advanced effects? Here you'll get answers. No questions about C++ programming or topics which are answered in the tutorials!
OK, I looked at the engine code, specifically CParticlePointEmitter.cpp, and it looks like it was designed to emit a single particle. This is what the documentation says about the createPointEmitter function: "minParticlesPerSecond,: Minimal amount of particles emitted per second." Well, that isn't how its implemented. I can't believe how much time I wasted trying to get the point emitter to work, just to find out that it doesn't.
This might be fixed since Irrlicht SVN rev. 570. The problem was that the new particle array was first transformed and then copied. This lead to very strange effects and made the implementation of emitters unnecessarily complex.