You can get the 1.6.1.44127 from the Krakatoa downloads page: thinkboxsoftware.com/krakatoa-downloads/ The bug you are seeing was fixed in that build.
FranticParticles.GetBoolProperty "RenderGeometryVertices"Would be the MAXScript call to determine if geometry vertices are rendering as particles. FranticParticles is a global singleton that will forward to the current renderer if it is Krakatoa, otherwise you’ll get an exception.