Create a cloth with two control points at each end? [video example included] See video for example of problem: Watch on YouTube

I'm trying to create a cloth string object (made of a mesh with just edges and vertices. No faces) that can be controlled by two end points. Best I could find in my research, hooking both end vertices to hooks (empties being the hook point) seemed like the best option. BUT, when I playback the simulation, the hook points only affect the one vertex they're hooked to; they don't affect the rest of the string.

Is there a way I can achieve this effect of a cloth string that's controlled by two end points? Is there a better way than what I'm doing?
Maybe this file can point you the right way:



For simulation these kind of hairy strings, Soft Body Simulation is great. It's relatively fast to calculate, and it works on mesh edges by definition. In the sample scene, I just created an edge and subdivided it a few times. Then I added both end vertices to a group called Pinning, and created a hook for each end.

After that, I added a Soft Body Simulation to it, setting the Goal like this:



So very stiff, high damping, Goal Strength to 1 (so the end points will stick to the hooks), and choosing the Pinning Group to define the goal. When playing the animation, you get this: