Thanks for the response, sparrownightmare.

That was my first assumption, so I changed textures a couple of times with no change in the spotting effect.  I doesn't seem to be a texture or shader problem.  I also tried changing lights.  I still get this effect.  I wonder if the artifacts are memory related, there's a lot going on in the scene.

Klebnor

Lotus 123 ~ S-Render ~ OS/2 WARP ~ IBM 8088 / 4.77 Mhz ~ Hercules Ultima graphics, Hitachi 10 MB HDD, 64K RAM, 12 in diagonal CRT Monitor (16 colors / 60 Hz refresh rate), 240 Watt PS, Dual 1.44 MB Floppies, 2 button mouse input device.  Beige horizontal case.  I don't display my unit.