RubberHose is ShapeLayers
From the beginning of development I wanted RubberHose to be built on ShapeLayers. I was sure this would provide a level of flexibilty and design customization missing from other rigging/animation systems. Hose styling can be as simple or as elaborate as desired. Add additional strokes and ShapeLayer Effects to really customize Hoses for characters or abstract use.
With RubberHose, unlike most rig systems, you are actually supposed to design inside of After Effects as opposed to finalizing a character and importing. You are encouraged to redesign in the middle of animation (without fear of breaking a rig). Much of RubberHose's strengh comes from the live ShapeLayer effects (trim path, stroke dashes, offset paths, etc).
RubberHose will be available very very soon. I actually mean that.