I would love to see it all in one shot.
What is the method for software renderable particles?
I went through the steps (as shown in a "Learning Maya" book)
and they said to use hardware then composite, and going through the step for adding particles, i never saw an option for "render with software"...

Its simply a "Wet Sponge Ball" that bounces towards a camera. The lighting is fairly basic, and there arent many particles coming off of the ball. I'll post a frame.

Thanks
Tim