I've been having repeated difficulty with the lighting of interior spaces. Right now I'm trying to light a single room.

I have a prop-static of the actual light, what I think is an env_lightglow (at work right now so can't check for sure in hammer), and a light_spot.

I'll post the specifics for the light_spot entity when I get a chance to double-check them, but here's what I remember:

Brightness: 200
Pitch: 90 (I think)
Inner (bright) angle: 30
Outer (fade) angle: 85

I basically copied and pasted a light_spot from a stock map, so the settings should be pretty standard. Nevertheless, the room remains dark and not very lit-up.

I tried upping the brightness because I thought the room might be too large, but even at 800 it still doesn't make a difference. More brightness seems to make the light itself glow brighter, but the room around it remains equally dark? I tried adding several light_spot's as well, and that doesn't seem to help at all. There are plenty of windows for the room as well.

Very confused, help would be appreciated. I've been working in hammer for a couple of months now, but I always seem to have trouble with lighting. Exterior lighting comes out fine, but interiors are always too dark.

If your light_spot is contained entirely within the prop, it won't work right. Try moving it directly below the prop. Also, if you're looking to light a whole room with this, it probably won't work. A light_spot is single directional.

This is what you're looking for, right?

http://i12.photobucket.com/albums/a217/fishbulb13/dod%20other/lightning_test0000.jpg

I used the same settings for the light_spot that you did.

With my interior lights, I use 4 entities...

light
light_spot
env_lightglow
env_sprite

I wish I could tell you what settings I have them at, but I'm not at my primary computer right now. I think the problem you're having is the lack of the light entity; that's the one that illuminates the area around it.

The rest are simply for visual effect. A light_spot is good for projecting light in a single direction as you've shown us in your screenshot... a practical example would be a streetlight, you would use a light entity to illuminate the area, and a light_spot entity to represent the more intense lighting on the ground around it. The env_lightglow entity can be used to give the light a sort of dynamic intensity depending on your distance from it, and the env_sprite entity, at the right settings, can glow intense enough to make the physical model (like the lightbulb) less visible, giving it the appearance that it's glowing.

I'll be sure to post again with the settings I use for each.

I think the problem you're having is the lack of the light entity; that's the one that illuminates the area around it.

The rest are simply for visual effect. A light_spot is good for projecting light in a single direction as you've shown us in your screenshot... a practical example would be a streetlight, you would use a light entity to illuminate the area, and a light_spot entity to represent the more intense lighting on the ground around it.

This was exactly the problem. I didn't remember seeing light entities used in conjunction with light_spots in the stock maps often, but I could be losing my mind. Nevertheless, the unidirectional thing was the problem. I added a light entity and now everything looks great. Thanks. :D