trying to make some particles from the example in the help file, though I doing something really wrong because can't seem to be able to produce any kind of output
here is the code I am trying

Code:
#include <acknex.h>
#include <default.c>

BMAP* particle_bmap = "light_red.tga";
var sploder_center[3] = { 50.0, 0.0, 0.0 };
var null_vector[3] = { 0.0, 0.0, 0.0 };

function vec_randomize (VECTOR* vec, var range)
{
   vec_set(vec,vector(random(1)-0.5,random(1)-0.5,random(1)-0.5));
   vec_normalize(vec,random(range));
}

function part_alphafade(PARTICLE *p)
{
   p.alpha -= 2*time_step;
   if (p.alpha <= 0) p.lifespan = 0;
}

function effect_explo(PARTICLE *p)
{
   VECTOR vTemp;
   vec_randomize(vTemp,10);
   vec_add(p.vel_x,vTemp);
   p.alpha = 25 + random(25);
   p.bmap = particle_bmap;
   p.flags |= (BRIGHT | MOVE);
   p.event = part_alphafade; // change to a shorter, faster function
}

function main()
{
	while(1)
	{
		effect(effect_explo,1000, sploder_center, null_vector);
		wait(-1);
	}
}


can someone help me out with this please and enlighten me?