man I think that system could use some better engine design. I typically use manager systems that register and manage. for example a particle system manager will spawn a particle system off a single event call (transmitted by server or started by some other event sent by server that requires particles) then it hands a pointer off to the render manager and updates the particles values at physics frame update. the particle system manager can sort the systems based on texture and/or z-value for better performance or blending/transparency.
object oriented design leads to more complicated systems, but they are far more robust and expandable. My render manager can cull how many particles and meshes it renders to enforce triangle count limits. this is all mostly still sitting as design. I am working through the engine implementation rotating through systems to bring as many of them up to full capability near the same time, squashing most needs for last minute "fixes"..