normal mapping
 

i've looked at the tut about normal mapping and decided to try it myself

i made a headless character and downloaded the normal map plug-in

now, everything in the modeler went as planned i did that "normal map create" and saved it.

the problem starts when i want to apply it in layout.
i load my character go to "surface editor"
hit the shade tab and when i want to add the normal map shader the following message appears:

"Plug-in NormalMapShader failed to start"

does anyone know why this is??
i am working with the 7.0 so maybe its because of that?

yep, most probably. With 7.5 being a free update, I strongly recommend getting it. You might even want to get 7.5c right away, it's pretty stable now. :)